A Metaphor for Jealousy
by Tikal Tyrant
Summary: Tweek and Craig are best friends, but when Thomas comes to South Park, Tweek feels that he might be stealing Craig. It's normal for him to feel that way though if someone's trying to steal his best friend, right? Rated T for Tourettes.
1. Ch:1 The Competiton is On

A/N: Three cheers for me writing a multi-chapter story! Now three boos for the fact that it takes place in July when it's already September! :( This is also the first fic I've done with the boys being high school age. In case you don't know, Thomas is the character from the episode Le Petit Tourette. This first chapter is more of a setting up, so please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own South Park. :) Wait a minute... :(

**A Metaphor for Jealousy:**

**Ch:1 - The Competition is On:**

Summer in South Park was very short, and, in fact, July seemed to be the only month the season was even noticeable. Most residents took this month as an opportunity to get all their summer activities done, which is why this particular group of high schoolers was hanging around the community pool.

Token floated in the water on his back beside Tweek, who was resting with his chest against an inner tube. There they basked in complete relaxation under the summer sun.

"Hey, where's Craig at?" Token asked, eyeing all the swimsuited girls.

Tweek jerked his head to the side, shutting one eye. "Arg! He said he would be here!" Tweek replied frantically. Token nodded in understanding before going back to his previous task of eyeing down teenage girls.

"Geronimo!" Clyde suddenly shouted before cannonballing into the pool, right between Tweek and Token. The two were pulled under by the waves as water splashed into their faces, blinding and choking them.

Tweek kept a death grip on his inner tube as he began to hyperventilate. "O-oh my God!" He yelled, gasping. "Gah! W-what happened?"

"You idiot!" Token screamed, coughing up pool water.

Clyde stared at Token obliviously. "What's the matter?" he asked with innocence.

Token rolled his eyes. "You don't jump on people in the pool!" he said before shoving a hand on Clyde's face and pushing him under the water. The two wrestled for a bit, taking turns dunking each other under.

Tweek watched the other boys in front of him, completely unsurprised by their actions, when he heard whispered chattering and giggles. He looked up to see everyone at the pool staring at the boys' antics. Tweek's face flushed at the attention, and he groaned as he lowered himself into the water hidden by his inner tube; the water bubbled in front of him as he went under.

"Waah!" Clyde fake whined. "Token, why are you being so mean to me?"

Token slapped the back of Clyde's head. "Shut up you big baby. You're making a scene," he said, despite the fact that he, too, was making a scene.

"Waah! Token's a meanie! Token's a meanie!" Clyde continued for a bit before a familiar, slightly nasally voice interrupted him. "What are you doing?" Craig asked with a rose eyebrow. Unlike his friends, Craig was still dressed in his blue jacket and aviator hat.

Tweek popped out of the water. "C-craig...," he shouted, but his sentence was cut short when he flipped over the side of his inner tube and into the water. Limbs flailed around wildly, and Tweek shouted incoherent curses before doggy paddling to the side of the pool. he blushed at the sound of laughter from the other swimmers. "H-hey," was all he could say as he looked up at Craig, his chin resting on the poolside, water spreading out from his wild hair.

Craig flipped off the other swimmers before holding out a hand for Tweek. Tweek pulled himself out of the water and smiled as he bit his lip. Despite their earlier years, Tweek and Craig had become best friends, and Tweek was always thankful that Craig would be there to flip people off whenever they made Tweek feel uncomfortable.

The origin of Tweek and Craig's friendship is... complicated to say the least. It all started with a fight when the two were eight, followed by the two laying in a hospital room together.

"Well this is just great," Craig had said, monotonous as ever, "stuck with you in this crappy hospital room."

Tweek jerked around in bed. "Gah! Oh sweet Jesus!" was his spastic reply.

"You of all people," Craig continued. "I mean look at you. You look like a friggin' train wreck. You never button your shirt right. Your hair's always a mess. You're always shaking. It's your fault we're here y'know. You thought you were tough enough to fight me? You can't even put on a hospital gown right."

"Gah!" Tweek screeched. "What's your problem, man!?" he yelled, tugging at his gown.

"My problem?" Craig asked, irritation now evident in his voice. "You're the one who was talking crap about me. Stan and Kyle may have been the ones who started it, but you were still talking crap about me. And let me tell you something. Nobody makes fun of Stripe without a death warrant."

"Arg! What are you talking about!?" Tweek knew Stripe was Craig's precious guniea pig. He had gotten him from his grandma for his eighth birthday when he was in second grade, and he wouldn't stop bragging about it. "I-I didn't say anything about Stripe!"

Craig's only reply was to flip the spazz off.

"Really!" Tweek fiddled with his sheet before burying his fists into it. "A-and you said I have crooked teeth." He shook his head frantically, "I don't have crooked teeth!"

Craig rose an eyebrow. "I never said that." This was true. Craig, himself didn't have the best teeth at the time, so for him to comment on another's was a heavy insult.

"Yes you did! Arg!" Tweek twitched. "Cause I didn't show up! You called me a chicken!"

"Wait," Craig said, "you didn't show up?"

"No! I was at home. Ngh. Three thirty. I was w-watching T.V.," Tweek frantically explained, feeling interrogated.

Craig blinked a few times. "Wait, you were?" he asked. "Me too. I didn't show up either. I went home to watch Red Racer."

Tweek jerked his head to the side again. "R-really? That's what I was watching," he said, suprised to find a common interest.

A small smile made its way to Craig's face; something Tweek wasn't sure he had ever seen. "Really? I love Red Racer!" the normally calm boy exclaimed, causing Tweek to jump and grip his sheet, quickly pulling it over him more. "I watch it every day of the week," Craig said passionately. "I don't think I've missed a single episode." Craig continued to express his love for the show, and after a while, Tweek eased out of his cover, smiling as he listened.

"So," Craig said a while later, back to his normal tone. "We really got fooled, huh?" Tweek nodded weekly. "Cartman and them were conspiring against us for their entertainment. Those ass-holes."

"Gah!" Tweek shrieked. "It's a conspiracy, man!"

Craig's eyes widened at the comment, and he began to laugh. Tweek jerked at the laughter with a worried look playing on his face. "Tweek," Craig said, "you're crazy." He rolled onto his side, nestling into the bed, before yawning in relaxation and drifting off to sleep. Tweek stared in silence, unsure how to react to the comment.

It wasn't much later after that, when Tweek and Craig officially became known as best friends, and they never grew apart, even now that the boys were in high school.

Token and Clyde also pulled themselves out of the pool; Token bringing Tweek's inner tube with him. "What took you so long?" Clyde asked, examining Craig. "And why aren't you wearing any swim shorts?"

"I had to stop and get someone first," Craig explained. "He's in the bathroom right now."

Tweek's head jerked to the side, "Er- Who?"

"Ah, SHIT!" shouted the aforementioned boy as he made his way to the group. A deep blush spread under his liquid-like green eyes, and his dirty blond hair was combed neatly away from his face.

"Woah, Thomas!" Clyde exclaimed. "Long time no see, man," he slapped a wet hand on Thomas's shoulder, which was clothed with a yellow-plaid shirt. It had become traditional for Thomas to visit South Park at least once over summer break, but he had already visited this summer, so this was unexpected.

"Seriously," Token agreed. "I didn't know you were in town."

"Sorry, but I don't have any swim shorts," Thomas guiltily explained. "That's why Craig didn't wear any. He didn't want me to feel left out... COCK!" Thomas blushed again. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Clyde comforted.

Tweek couldn't help but frown. It wasn't so much that he disliked Thomas. Nobody disliked Thomas. He was friendly towards everybody, and even with his tourettes, Thomas was never thought of as annoying. Unlike Tweek, who's ticks were always annoying. A twitchy nod was Tweek's only recognition of the other blond.

"Hey," Clyde said. "You know what we should do? We should get ice-cream. Token's treat, right?" he asked, making his way to the change room.

Thomas smiled, "Alright."

"Hey, wait," Token stopped. "Why my treat?"

"Why not?" was Clyde's only answer as he continued to lead.

After ordering, the boys made their way to a table, each with an ice-cream and fountain drink in hand. "So, " Thomas asked before taking a bite out of his ice-cream, "have you guys done anything since I was here last?"

"Well," Clyde began, "we haven't really done a whole lot. Just hanging out mostly."

"Yeah. At my house," Token confirmed with irritation.

Thomas laughed before a loud "SHIT COCK!" left his mouth. "Ugh, Sorry," he said in annoyance with himself.

Clyde chuckled. "Don't worry about it man. It's cool." Tweek mentally rolled his eyes.

"Yeah." Craig's eyes lifted up with adoration, and he clasped his hands together. "If I could shout 'shit cock' in public, I would be soo happy." Tweek felt his brow narrow at the comment. This was what Tweek had against Thomas. He shoveled ice-cream in his mouth to keep from grumbling.

Craig patted Thomas's back. "Tell them about the best part," he said smiling. The other three turned to Thomas, waiting for the news.

"Uh, well," Thomas began. "Actually, my mom just got a job here, so," The other boys smiled at the sound of this. Thomas continued, "I'm gonna be staying in South Park!"

"Gaah-huh!" Tweek shouted as he dropped his fountain drink, spilling it in his lap and down his pant leg. Craig rolled his eyes and sighed as he handed Tweek a napkin. His annoyance was obvious. Tweek jerked the napkin from Craig's hands and began viciously wiping his pants, biting his lip as he listened to the others cheering about Thomas's moving. Tweek wasn't surprised. Everyone liked Thomas. He was a really nice guy, and Tweek knew it. He had no reason to be upset.

"Hey, that means you'll be going to our high school!" Clyde exclaimed, stating the obvious. Tweek couldn't help but think he was a little too excited about Thomas moving, but it seemed they all were really excited. Everyone including Craig.

"Yeah," Thomas said cheerfully. "STUPID SHIT! Ugh." Tweek looked up to see Thomas blush at his outburst, and of course, Craig was staring at him dreamily. Tweek glared down at his pants and continued scrubbing the wet spot.

It wasn't much later that the five boys were back to walking around town. "So, when do we get to see the house?" Token asked.

Thomas shrugged. "We're still moving stuff in, so it'll probably be a while."

"It's your old house, Clyde," Craig mentioned.

"Oh, really?" Clyde said. "Oh yeah, Mom did say something about someone buying it."

"How did you not put that together?" Token asked. A frown formed on Clyde's chubby face. Token chuckled, "Be careful. The last guy that moved in there was a total freak."

"Geez, that was years ago," Clyde contemplated, remembering the Jefferson family who had once taken residency of the house. He smiled back at Thomas. "Well, I can't wait to see what you do with the place."

"I've already seen it," Craig smiled triumphantly. Tweek looked at Thomas to see a blushy smile on his face. He probably would have glared at the boy if it weren't for the sudden vibration in his pocket.

"GAAH!" Tweek screeched, causing the others to cover their ears.

"Jesus, Tweek," Clyde said. Tweek pulled his phone from his pocket and answered.

"PISS!" Thomas blurted. "Ugh..."

Token began to laugh. "It does kinda look like Tweek pissed himself," he said, noting the wet pant leg.

"Heh. It does," Craig agreed, laughing as well.

Tweek put his phone back in his pocket, frowning at the laughter. "Sh-shut up."

"Who was it?" Craig asked.

Tweek frowned. "I-it was my dad. I have to go home."

Craig smiled, "Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow. We'll probably hang out for a while longer, though."

Tweek nodded before Thomas spoke up. "Actually," he said, "I should probably get home soon, too."

Craig frowned, "Aw, really?" Tweek rose his brow at this. "That sucks," he said. Because of course it was fine if Tweek had to leave, but it was terrible if Thomas had to. "Well, see you guys tomorrow," Craig waved.

Tweek grunted, and Thomas blurted out a, "COCK!" before leaving.

Tweek entered his house, twitchier than usual, and made his way to the kitchen table. "Is something the matter, son?" Richard, Tweek's father, asked as he took a bite out of his pork chop.

Tweek shook his head. He had come to terms with the fact that his parents weren't the best people to go to for advice. "Here, Tweek," his mother said, handing him a mug. "Have some coffee."

"Yes," Richard began, "Coffee that calms the soul, like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. It is the glue that holds us all together. It's a blanket of understanding in our mixed up world. It's..."

"Gah, Dad," Tweek interrupted. "The metaphors!"

"Oh right. Sorry Tweek," Richard said as he went back to eating his supper. Tweek looked into the coffee in his mug. He never quite understood his father's metaphors, but he did agree that it held him together. He gulped down the coffee and finished off his supper quickly before going on to bed.

Tweek laid in bed, staring blankly at his clock, yet not paying attention to the time. He still wasn't sure what his exact emotions towards Thomas were. No matter how much he tried to find a flaw in the boy, he couldn't. Well, there was the Tourettes, but that was neurological. Still, Tweek did know what it was he didn't like. Craig was supposed to be his best friend, but Thomas seemed to take that place when he was around. Tweek gripped his pajama pants, and rolled onto his side when his phone rang. He jumped a little before taking his phone off his night stand. It was Token.

"Nn. Hello?" Tweek answered.

"Hey Tweek," Token said. "I know you have work tomorrow, but the day after, I was gonna get the guys together to stay the night. Wanna come down?"

Tweek smiled, "Sure. Uh, who's all g-gonna be there?"

"Well, Clyde, Craig, and Thomas. Oh, and possibly Jimmy, but I haven't called him yet," Token answered. "So, you in?"

Tweek tried to ignore the fact that Token called Thomas before himself. "S-sure. I'm in."

"Alright, cool," Token said cheerfully. "Well, I'll speak to ya later. Goodnight."

"G-goodnight," Tweek said before hanging up. We'll see, Tweek thought, just who Craig's best friend is. All Tweek had to do was make it through work the next day, and the competition was on. Even if Tweek was the only one who saw it this way. There was just no way in Hell Thomas was going to take Craig away from him... Was there?


	2. Ch:2 A Curious Attraction

A/N: I bring you the second chapter of A Metaphor for Jealousy! In case anyone was wondering, this is going to develop into more of a Creek story. I know one of the genres is friendship, but it is a little bit more than that. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, and without further adieu, here's chapter two!

Disclamer: I don't own South Park. (OK, so there was further adieu.)

**A Metaphor for Jealousy:  
Ch:2 - A Curious Attraction:**

After a long night of alternating between awake and asleep, a twitchy Tweek Tweak arose from bed at the wailing sound of his alarm clock. He let out a shriek when he flipped his alarm switch too far, turning on the staticky radio. After turning off the alarm, Tweek rubbed the sleep from his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. He fumbled with his pajama top buttons, what was left of them at least, and threw the shirt into a hamper before globbing toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Upon inspection of his teeth, Tweek realized he didn't have the whitest teeth in the world. Seeing as how the boy nearly lived off of coffee, this was no surprise. His should be pearly-whites were slightly tinted and dull, unlike Thomas, who kept his teeth clean. Even Craig, who had worn braces through junior high and now wore a retainer, managed sparkling white teeth. Tweek frowned at where his thoughts had lead him, and he brushed his teeth, trying not to think about his self-proclaimed rival so early in the morning.

After washing his face, Tweek pulled on a pair of faded gray jeans and a gray, button up shirt, a color and style of clothing he had grown attached to. Normally, the shirt would have been long-sleeved, seeing as how the temperature usually remained around freezing, but Harbuck's dress code enforced short-sleeved shirts. Tweek had always suspected this to be a conspiracy by the capitalists who wanted to force their employees to get sick and spread their germs to the food they served, thus making any customers sick so they would be forced to go out and buy drugs, eventually becoming immune and having to buy stronger drugs so the capitalists could make more money, but he would think about this later, for he was more concerned with putting on his shirt. With much difficulty, Tweek tried to line the buttons with their respective holes. Because of a certain twitching problem, Tweek had become accustom to his shirt not quite matching up, but now that he felt he was competing with Thomas, he was trying to dress a little neater. He had tried to comb his hair into something respectable, but it would seem the frizzy locks could not be controlled. The least he could do was figure out how to line up those blasted buttons that taunted the boy so. He had managed to get the top two buttons with much concentration, but now he was cramming the next into the cloth again and again, jerking too much to reach the hole.

"Tweek," Richard called from down stairs, "son, if you don't hurry, you'll be late for work."

"Gaah, J-jesus," Tweek muttered, finally cramming the remaining buttons into random holes. One look in the mirror showed he had dressed as sloppily as ever. He tugged on the shirt, trying to cover his belly button and other revealed skin, but failed in this task. Deciding he would rather have messed up buttons than missing work and not earning any money and his parents finding it a burden to keep him and kicking him out of the house or worse, selling him to slave traders or perverts who would do terrible things to him, Tweek ran down stairs for his ride to work.

At work, Tweek stood behind the counter at full attention, his gray shirt still buttoned haphazardly under his green Harbuck's apron. Tweek never really minded having to go to work. He enjoyed being surrounded by the smell of coffee, and he could never complain about the free coffee he was allowed, seeing as how his father ran this Harbuck's. That was definitely something Tweek was happy about. Now that Tweak's Coffee no longer existed, Tweek wasn't responsible for carrying on the Tweak name. That would have been way too much pressure!

Any time a customer walked in, Tweek would jerk to attention from the relaxation he wasn't really in. Luckily, people rarely questioned Tweek's odd behavior. They all knew him as "the Tweak kid," or, "Richard and Cindy's boy," and everyone was pretty used to his strange outbursts. Again, Tweek shot up when the door opened. He smiled when he saw it was Craig, but that fell when he held the door open a bit longer, allowing Thomas to enter the coffee shop. "Ngh, hey Craig," Tweek said, biting his bottom lip. So Craig was hanging out with Thomas? So what?

"Hey, Tweek," Thomas smiled genuinely as Craig read the menu posted behind the counter, which he was leaning casually against.

"H-hey," Tweek smiled back. Really, Tweek couldn't help but smile back. Thomas had an air about him that attracted others to him. Maybe Thomas wasn't trying to steal Craig after all, and Tweek had just been paranoid the night before, Tweek tried to convince himself. It wasn't hard to think they were just friends. Sure, they were hanging out, but Craig hangs out with Clyde and Token and Jimmy all the time. That never bothered Tweek, so why should this? After all, it wasn't like the two were dating...

"GAAAH-HUUR!" Tweek shouted, making Thomas back up and Craig raise an eyebrow.

"Cock, ass, cock," Thomas stuttered out.

"Rrr... S-sorry," Tweek said, breathing heavily.

"Right," Craig said, "I'll just get a cookie. Chocolate chip." Craig had never been a coffee drinker, so he mostly only came to Harbuck's for Tweek's sake.

"Uh," Thomas said, "I guess I'll just get a small coffee."

"R-right," Tweek nodded and turned around to pour Thomas's coffee. He sat the coffee on the counter and pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of the case, sliding it into a paper sleeve. He had tried to tell Craig that he could get the cookies himself, but Craig never did. Not that it bothered Tweek to do it. He had gotten quite used to working in a twitchy state and not messing anything up. It was really quite the sight.

Craig and Thomas took their respective orders. "Thanks, COCK!" Thomas said, groaning at himself as Craig payed for both the orders. The two went off to an open table, which wasn't too hard seeing as how there were only four other customers.

"Nnngh!" Tweek whimpered to himself as he ducked behind the counter, grabbing at his hair as his back hit against it. "Oh Jesus," Tweek whispered to himself, "Oh God." Both the orders, Tweek thought. Craig had payed for both the orders. Why would that be necessary, unless... Tweek quickly became lost in his questions. What if they were dating? What if that's why Craig always wanted Thomas around? Even if they weren't dating, what if Craig had a crush on Thomas? He twitched and jerked more with each uncomfortable question. What if Craig never wants to hang out any more because of Thomas? What if Everyone else already knows about their relationship, and Tweek was just being kept in the dark? What if, what if, what if, was the only thing spiraling through Tweek's mind at the moment as his breathing became more and more rapid.

A loud, "COCK!" from Thomas startled Tweek to attention, and he quickly stood back up from his seat on the floor. He saw the other customers staring questioningly at Thomas, and Craig quickly flipped them off.

Tweek thought he felt his heart stop for a second. "No," he whispered to himself, tugging his shirt.

"Th-thanks," Thomas said, blushing and slouching in his seat. Craig nodded as he brought his hand down.

"N-no," Tweek said again, clenching his apron. Craig wasn't supposed to flip people off for anyone but him. Now he was doing it for Thomas? Tweek slammed his face down hard on the counter, trying to force away his negative thoughts, but to no avail. This isn't fair, Tweek thought, eyes on the counter before him. That's supposed to be mine. Not his. Mine. Even though Tweek did not want Thomas to take Craig, he was aware of how selfish his thoughts were. He knew it shouldn't bother him so much, but it did and he had no idea why. He felt his face warm up as he inhaled the stale air off the counter. Tears stung Tweek's eyes, threatening to fall. Tweek knew he was being over dramatic, and he knew he was making assumptions. Still, the thought of Craig and Thomas having some sort of deeper relationship made Tweek feel sick to his stomach.

"Tweek?" Craig said, hovering over the counter. Tweek quickly shot up at the sound of his voice, hitting the top of his head against Craig's chin.

"Ow!" Craig exclaimed as he cupped his bruised chin.

"Gaah! I-I'm sorry, Craig!" Tweek shouted, tugging his hair.

"SHIT! Craig, are you OK?" Thomas said, placing his hands delicately over Craig's.

Tweek felt his face heat up again, seeing Thomas gently inspected the damaged area. He just wanted him to stop. He just wanted to shout, 'Get the fuck away from Craig!' He did the only thing he could do. "GRAAH!" he screeched as he leaped forward, laying his stomach over the counter and flailing his arms and legs in swimming motions with his arms between Craig and Thomas, disrupting the contact between them.

"Uh... What the Hell?" was the only thing Craig could say. Tweek continued his swimming motions for a moment before completely freezing, and realizing how dumb he must look.

"Ngh, uh, rr," Tweek muttered, blushing as he slid back behind the counter and attempting to straighten his apron.

"Yeah...," Craig said. "We're going. Just making sure, you are going to Token's tomorrow, right?"

"O-of course!" Tweek piped up, maybe a little too enthusiastic. He wasn't so much excited about staying at Token's. That was quite normal. He just wasn't going to let Craig and Thomas sleep over together without him, or else Thomas might take advantage of Craig while he was sleeping, or seduce him into doing the naughtiest of acts, or...

"Alright, just making sure," Craig said, turning away and waving behind him. "Well, see you tomorrow."

"See ya," Thomas added before following Craig out of the coffee shop.

"Ngh, yeah. See ya," Tweek said, jerking his head to the side.

The rest of the day went by OK, despite the fact that all Tweek wanted was to go home, but he couldn't because his dad asked him to work late that night; the whole time, thoughts of Craig and Thomas ran awry through Tweek's mind.

Once Tweek finally did make it home, he quickly indulged himself with his much needed home-brewed coffee. Sitting at the kitchen table, Tweek chugged down a large mug filled with coffee. Work, among other things, had been stressful, and Tweek needed this to calm him down at least a little.

"Tweek," Tweek's mother called to him as she entered the kitchen. "How was work today, honey?" She asked in the sweetest, most caring voice.

"Ngh," Tweek responded. "F-fine I guess."

His mother made her way to the sink where she began to wash the dishes piled there. "Are you still going to Token's house tomorrow?"

"Y-yeah," Tweek answered. He smiled a bit. It would be Saturday, and he would have no work. He would just spend time with his friends. That wouldn't be stressful at all. Except it was stressful. Thomas would be there, and Tweek had to make sure nothing funny was going on between him and Craig.

Tweek laid in bed, fresh out of the shower and not yet sleepy enough to slumber. He pulled his phone from his pocket when it rang. It was a text message from Token, saying, 'You are coming tomorrow right?'

Tweek first typed, 'Of course!' but quickly changed that to a simple, 'yes,' deciding the other would be too excited. He didn't really know why he didn't want to sound too excited. He felt if he sounded excited, he would sound desperate, which made even less since, making Tweek worry he was going insane.

Token replied with, 'Alright cool.' Tweek backed out of the message and stared at his phone as it rested on his chest. His wallpaper was a picture of him and Craig sitting on the bleachers at their high school. Clyde had taken the picture just before the summer after their freshman year, making the picture a little over a year old. Craig was on the left, flipping a bird, and Tweek was on the right, clenching a cup of coffee in his hands and smiling with one eye shut. Tweek's smile was a toothy, lip biting smile, just as it had always been in nearly every picture. It seemed the boy just couldn't smile without gnawing on his lip, giving him a nervous look.

Craig on the other hand, had a more indifferent look on his face. Most people would consider Craig to be emotionless most of the time, but Tweek knew, from the glint in his eyes, this was not true. That was something Tweek always loved about Craig. His eyes were such a deep brown, like chocolate. Tweek could stare into Craig's eyes forever, and never get bored of those deep, chocolate orbs. Tweek, on the other hand, had hazel eyes. Craig had said they suited him because they were the color of coffee, but Tweek couldn't think his eyes, with all their flecks and lines, could ever be compared to Craig's solid, beautiful ones.

The phone's screen went black, and Tweek thrashed around in bed. He had to wonder if Craig would eventually realize Thomas was better than him, and then change his wallpaper to a picture of Thomas. Hell, maybe he had already realized this, and Tweek had been denying it by always thinking of Craig as his best friend. It could easily be that Tweek was the only one who saw it that way, and to everyone else, Thomas was in that position.

The more Tweek thought about it, the more his whole body trembled. The harder he tried to stop the shivers, the worse they became. "Calm down," he told himself. "J-just calm down. Remember what Dr. Norris said. Find your center." Tweek took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he closed his eyes. "My center." He imagined himself sitting in a field surrounded by trees. The wind was light, and the clouds cast gentle shadows on the ground. Throughout the field, there were puppies running and playing about. In the middle, was a cool pond. Around the pond, deer graciously dipped their heads down to drink, and emerging from the center of the pool was Craig in swim trunks.

Tweek's eyes shot open, and he began to shake again, feeling the sweat building up around his hair line. "Gah. W-what the hell, man? What's wrong with me?" He clenched and tugged at his shirt and realized his breathing had become heavy again. He slapped his hand onto his heated face. "Ngh, I'm coming down with something. Oh God, I'm going insane." He tightened the hand on his face. "Aah, I'm going insane!"

The next day, Tweek stood in front of Token's mansion sized house. Tweek had barely slept one hour that last night, as he was too busy worrying about his state of mind. He sighed as he rang the doorbell, and a moment later, Token opened it.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "What took you so long? Everyone else is already here."

Tweek followed Token inside. "Ugh," he clenched his bag. "I had to help my dad with the store."

"I thought you were off today," Token said, making his way to the stairs.

"I-I was!" Tweek exclaimed. "He made me help anyway. I'm losing my freedom, man!"

Token chuckled as he climbed the expansive flight of stairs. No matter how many times Tweek visited Token's house, he could never get use to its huge size. He was sure if he tried to walk around by himself, he would get lost and probably starve to death. Somehow, Token never seemed to get lost in the enormous place.

"Tweek's here," Token said when he entered his bedroom. All the boys were sitting on pillows and bean bag chairs, and Craig and Clyde were playing some fighting game.

Tweek sat his bag with the others before taking a seat between Craig and Thomas, intentionally separating the two and hoping it wasn't obvious. While fiddling with the controller, Craig bumped their shoulders together, and Tweek felt his stomach jump. He shook the feeling from his head, unsure of why he was feeling this way. It had never bothered him to make physical contact with Craig before.

"No!" Clyde yelled, dropping his controller in his lap. "Every single time!"

"Face it, Clyde," Jimmy said. "You s-s-s-suck."

Clyde huffed at the comment, and Token took a seat on the bean bag chair beside him and said, "You really do suck." He picked up a pillow from beside him. "Here," he said, and threw it to Tweek.

"Gah!" Tweek yellped, catching the pillow between his face and arm. "Th-thanks."

"Alright," Craig said, holding his controller up with determination in his eyes. "Who's up next?"

"I'll fight," Tweek said, picking up the other controller.

A moment later, Tweek and Craig were engaged in a heated battle. Craig's eyes were fixed on the screen, unable to blink as his fingers darted across the controller. Tweek managed to hold his own against Craig's skills, shaking as his thumbs punched the appropriate buttons.

Tweek blinked only one eye at a time, whimpers of anxiety escaping him as he grew closer to victory. Craig's life bar was reduced to nearly nothing, and Tweek felt he might actually win, when all of a sudden, Craig belted out a complicated and impressive combo, KOing Tweek almost instantly.

"Gah! H-how!?" Tweek tugged at his hair and slammed his eye shut.

Craig cracked his neck and grinned, the smug almost visibly lifting off of him. "SHIT!" Thomas yelled. "That was really impressive!"

"Aw, nah," Craig said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not all that good." Tweek glared at Thomas as Craig stood up and walked to the door. "I've gotta use the bathroom. You guys can keep playing."

Tweek looked to Thomas, then to the controller in his hands. "Nn, Thomas. Fight me."

"S-SHIT!" Thomas spat. "Sure, I'll play."

It was a brutal battle, and the two quickly focused on the game. Nothing else mattered in the midst of the fight. Thomas blurted out small obscenities while Tweek continued to blink rapidly.

"Who's winning?" Craig asked as he reentered the bedroom.

Jimmy looked back at him. "Tweek is right n-now. It's r-r-really close though."

Tweek grinned his lip biting grin again as he felt a growing superiority to Thomas. He was so close to winning. He hoped and prayed this would be some sort of foreshadowing, or some metaphor for his current situation. Though it was very close, Tweek felt he was getting nearer and nearer as his eyes widened with determination. Suddenly, Tweek let out a squeak and jerked away from the T.V.

"Yes!" Thomas shouted, throwing his arms up. "SUCK IT! BITCH!"

Tweek fell onto his hands, trying with much concentration to take back his former hopes and prayers. "Ngh," he mutters. "Don't be a metaphor. Don't be foreshadowing. God, please."

"W-wow," Jimmy said. "You're pretty damn g-g-g-good."

"Yeah, that was really close, too," Token agreed.

Tweek shivered in his spot facing the floor. He wanted everyone to shut up and stop complimenting him. He felt a hand on his back, and looked up to see Clyde.

"It's OK," Clyde said. "You're not alone."

Tweek scooted away and pointed to Clyde dramatically. "Nn, I'm not like you!" he yelled, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Clyde," Token cut in. "No one sucks as bad as you."

"Yeah," Craig, Thomas, and Jimmy agreed together.

Clyde held his hands up in defense. "Hey. I'm not that bad."

"Wanna bet?" Token said, picking up one of the controllers.

Clyde crossed his arms. "No."

The others laughed, and Jimmy picked up the other controller. "I'll f-fight you, Token."

While the two were fighting, Clyde turned to Tweek. "Hey Tweek," he said with a smile. "You've gotta see the pictures we took."

"Oh yeah," Thomas said, pulling his digital camera out of his pocket and handing it to Tweek. "Here."

Tweek took the camera and flipped backwards through the pictures. They were mostly pictures of them goofing off and making dumb faces. Nothing really out of the usual. One picture in particular caught his eye. It was a picture of Thomas with his arm around Craig, who was grinning and flipping a bird. He was smiling. Sure, Craig smiled, just not usually in pictures. In fact, Tweek wasn't sure if he had any pictures of Craig smiling. He had always thought it was because Craig used to get made fun of for his teeth when he was little, and even after getting braces, it had become a habit for him to not show his teeth. The only thing Tweek could think of was that Craig must have become more comfortable around Thomas.

"I think that was the first one I took," Thomas said, holding his hand out for his camera.

"Ngh," Tweek twitch, hitting the back button. There were more pictures, seeming to be from the day before. Tweek jerked his head to the side.

"Oh yeah," Thomas said. "I guess there's more on there."

The first picture was of Thomas and Craig sitting on a porch swing. Then there was a picture of the two eating Snacky Cakes. Tweek continued to flip through various pictures of Thomas and Craig before landing on a particular picture of Craig. It had been taken with night vision, and Craig was on a bed, sleeping. He had a very relaxed expression on his slumbering face. His lips were just barely parted. The picture seemed to entrance Tweek, as he couldn't seem to change pictures.

Tweek snapped his head to Thomas. "When did you take these?"

Craig cleared his throat. "I stayed the night with Thomas last night."

Tweek gripped the camera in his hands, sure that if he had gripped it harder, it would break.

"That's a stupid picture," Craig smacked the camera out of Tweek's hands.

"Aww," Thomas picked on him. "Does someone not want to be seen sleeping?"

"Gg. You spent the night together?" Tweek squeaked, maybe a bit more than he usually would.

"Yeah. COCK!" Thomas shook his head at himself, and Tweek grunted a nearly inaudible grunt. Thomas picked up his camera and turned it off. "Craig, don't break my camera. My dad got it for me."

"Oh yeah," Craig said. "Sorry," and he went to sit with Token and Jimmy.

The next few hours were spent on video games. The boys switched between various fighting games in particular, and of course Craig had succeeded in pissing everyone off by acting so nonchalant about his constant winning. Still, Tweek wasn't pissed off. He loved how confident Craig was, and really, the only thing that bothered him was the embarrassment of how bad he himself really was. He felt that if only he could impress Craig, that would be enough. Unfortunately, in this situation, Tweek would not be able to accomplish that. In Tweek's opinion, Thomas was lucky to have Tourettes. That might have been terrible for Tweek to think that in most people's opinion, but Tweek couldn't help how he felt. Heck, he couldn't even comprehend it.

"Hey Token," Clyde yawned, leaning against Token's bean bag chair and looking up at him. "I'm hungry. Can we fix the pizza?"

"Uh," Token said, turning off his T.V. "Sure. I guess."

Jimmy lifted himself up with his crutches. His current crutches were much nicer than his old ones. They were slender, silver forearm crutches that were much easier to deal with than his old ones. True, these stuck in front of him more, but that was worth it. "B-be careful, Clyde," he said. "Eat too much, and you'll turn out like Eric very much."

Token laughed. "Yeah. You're getting close." He led the others out of his room and down the stairs.

"Dammit," Clyde said. "I'm not fat. I really am just kind of big boned. Y'know, if it wasn't for Stan and Kyle, no one would have ever thought I was fat."

"Yes they would," Craig said as they walked into Token's kitchen, which was also of great size. They each took a seat at a large, stainless steel bar while Token searched through the freezer.

"Say fellas?" Jimmy asked. "Speaking of those two, do you think they're, y'know, f-f-fags?"

"COCK SUCKER!" Thomas sputtered. "You mean seriously? I don't really know them too well, but do they act like it?"

"They probably are," Craig said. "Either way, those guys are complete ass-holes."

"Er," Tweek started. "I never understood that. Why do you hate them so much? Th-they're kinda stressful, but I don't think they're ass-holes." Thomas, Token, Clyde, and Jimmy all laughed at his question, like they all knew something Tweek didn't. It was as if they were all in on some inside joke that Tweek had been left out of! Tweek tugged at his hair, twitching a bit. Oh God, he was right! He was being left out! It wasn't just Craig, either!

"They just are," Craig said, looking away.

Tweek hopped off his stool. "T-Token, I need coffee."

Token turned around after putting the pizza in the oven. "Sure, but we got a new coffee machine, and I don't understand how it works. There's, like, a-million buttons on the thing.

Tweek stared at the impressive machine in awe. He fiddled around with it for a bit. Clyde chuckled. "Why would a coffee machine need that many buttons? I would have never payed for that, even if I was a rich little bitch."

Token chucked a wet dish rag at Clyde. "My mom bought it, ass-hole."

"Be careful," Thomas joked. "Push the wrong button, and it'll go into some sort of Human Eradication Mode." The others laughed, but mostly at the fact that he obviously did not realize just how possible his little joke had really been.

Token was surprised to hear the pouring sound of the coffee machine as it filled the pot with the dark liquid. "Wow, you really know your way around a coffee machine," he said, even more impressed to see that not only had Tweek managed to fix coffee, but he figured out how to set the clock as well. Tweek smiled at the praise. At least he had this one thing to be proud of. He wondered if Craig had also been impressed with him. He was realizing just how often he thought about the dark haired boy. Had he always been this way, or was this new? He couldn't be sure, but these feelings didn't seem as foreign as he had hoped.

"This is taking too long!" Clyde whined, though Token had just put the pizza in the oven. "When's the pizza gonna be done?" he asked, spinning on his stool. He then spotted the fruit bowl on the bar, and he picked up a banana. "Hey, you guys wanna have a contest?"

"A contest?" Token asked skeptically.

Clyde peeled the banana a little more than half way. "Like, how far can you put a banana in your mouth?"

"W-what?" Token asked, eyes widening. Clyde began to slide the phallic fruit in his mouth, completely oblivious to the nature of his action.

"Gaah! S-stop it Clyde!" Tweek shouted, clutching his mug. "Y-you're gonna choke! You're gonna choke and die! Oh Jesus!"

Clyde's lips hit the base, or rather, the peel when Token spoke up. "Will you knock it off? That's disgusting," he said, shifting on his stool beside Clyde.

"Waif, I han hill go," Clyde muttered as he began to peel the banana more, but before he could, Token smacked the banana out of Clyde's hand.

"I said that's disgusting," Token said, hitting the bottom off the banana, causing Clyde to bite down. The bottom of the banana hit the bar while Clyde began choking on the rest of it. He grabbed at his chest and made terrible gargling sounds.

"GAAH! You killed him! Clyde!" Tweek freaked out, pulling at his hair.

Finally, Clyde coughed up the rest of the banana, and the almost completely intact remainder landed wetly on the bar, causing everyone to back away.

"Ah SHIT! Holy crap Clyde!" Thomas exclaimed in amazement.

Token cupped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide at the soggy banana. Clyde gasped for air, but grinned at everyone's reaction. "Pretty impressive, huh?" Clyde asked.

"No," Token shook his head with his hand still over his mouth. "Just... no."

Clyde frowned at the fact that no one had praised his accomplishment. "Well, I thought it was."

Once again in the bedroom, Token moved his couch in front of the T.V., and set a blow up mattress in front of it while Thomas, Craig, Tweek, and Jimmy looked over Token's enormous shelf of DVD's. "W-what should we watch?" Jimmy asked.

"Tweek?" Craig asked, looking down at him.

"Ngh," Tweek grabbed his shirt. "Th-there's just so much! I can't choose!" Tweek shook his head. "Man, that is way too much pressure!"

Craig sighed. "Of course it is." Tweek looked up at Craig, frowning when he didn't look back at him.

"Hey," Clyde said, entering the room with pizzas in hand. "Pizza's done."

"Did you clean the bar?" Token asked.

Clyde smiled. "Of course."

"Really?" Token asked.

Clyde frowned. "Why don't you just believe me?" He sat the pizza on the couch and walked to the shelf. "Hey," he said, pulling a DVD off the shelf, "what's this." It was a movie called Seven Pounds.

"Oh," Token took the case from Clyde. "That's a good movie. It's really sad though. I actually teared up while watching it."

Clyde laughed. "Pussy." The others shook their heads at Clyde, knowing he had no right to talk.

"Oh yeah?" Token said. "Wanna watch it?"

So the boys lined up on the air mattress with a plate of pizza in each of their laps. The lights were off, and Jimmy sat on one end beside Thomas, Clyde sat on the other end beside Token, and Craig sat between Thomas and Tweek. Tweek had never noticed before just how warm Craig was, as he could feel his heat beside him, and, it was very awkward. This was odd since it wasn't awkward for Token to bump elbows with him or anything of the sort, and Tweek was really getting worried. It seemed like he was getting less comfortable with Craig, but that would mean Thomas really was a better friend. Tweek jerked his head straight to the T.V., trying to focus only on the movie.

By the end of the movie, Everyone, even Token who had already seen the movie, had tears in their eyes. Everyone including Clyde, who was absolutely bawling into a pillow. Each sob was hysterical, and each sniffle was completely snot filled. The credits rolled, and the others blinked the tears out of their eyes while Clyde buried his head into the pillow. "There, there," Token said, patting Clyde's brown hair. He grinned, knowing Clyde's reaction would be this way. "You're using that pillow tonight."

After a few more movies, everyone changed into their sleep wear, and fixed up the room for sleeping. Token slept in his bed while Jimmy took the couch. The other four slept on two air mattresses pushed together, each with an individual blanket to separate them. Craig was again between Thomas and Tweek, and Clyde slept beside Tweek. Of course, Tweek was still awake long after the others had stop talking and fallen asleep.

Tweek found himself turning to look at Thomas a lot. He would look and think that he might be too close to Craig, and he would mentally push him away. It really was a silly thing to be thinking about, but Tweek didn't like how they were almost laying back to back. He thought back on what Craig had said earlier about staying the night at Thomas's house. That definitely explained why they were together at Harbuck's, but Tweek couldn't help but feel a bit rejected. Why hadn't Craig asked to stay with Tweek? Tweek sighed, laying down and facing away from Craig and Thomas. He closed his eyes and hoped to fall asleep.

Not much later, Tweek inhaled a warm and familiar scent. It was relaxing, and he almost drifted off into complete sleep when his eyes popped open. The first thing he saw was Craig's neck, and he pulled back. He figured he must have turned over unconsciously. Tweek looked at Craig's eyes to make sure he was still sleeping, which he was, and slowly positioned his head by Craig's neck again and inhaled. He truly did have a calming scent to him. It was unique, thus unexplainable, but Tweek liked it. Again, he pulled back, realizing just what he was doing. He was smelling his best friend. That definitely wasn't normal.

Tweek laid flat on his back and forced his eyes closed, figuring he just needed sleep. He just couldn't seem to drift off into sleep. Too many things itched at his brain. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at Craig. He was completely asleep, not noticing the constant shifting beside him. Craig laid on his side with one arm over his waist while the other rested in front of his face. His face looked just like it did in the picture: lips parted slightly and eyes gently closed. Yet this was different. This was right in front of Tweek, and he felt somewhat fascinated as he watched Craig inhale and exhale in a steady rhythm. A smile spread across Tweek's face as it heated a bit.

"COCK!" Thomas shouted, causing Tweek to flop down on his back and slam his eyes shut. He peeked with one eye to see that Thomas had been asleep during his outburst, and no one seemed to have been woken up.

"Oh no," Tweek said ever so quietly to himself as he laid back down. "Ngh. Something really is wrong with me."


	3. Ch:3 The Things We Didn't Notice

A/N: First off, I just want to say I am so sorry that I took so long to get this up. I was sick last week (which is very rare for me), so I was sleeping through most of my free time. Well, I'm all better now, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it is the second to last one. That's right, the next chapter will be the end! I will definitely try to get the next chapter up quicker. Oh, and by the way, who all is super excited for Wednesday? I am, I am! I keep hyperventilating thinking about it, I'm so excited! Well, anyhow, thank you to everybody who is reading this story, and please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Somehow, between the last chapter and now, I didn't manage to recieve ownership of South Park.

**A Metaphor for Jealousy:**

**Ch:3 - The Things We Didn't Notice**

The sound of sizzling filled the room, awaking the six boys from their slumber.

"Gah!" Tweek screeched in a daze. "Bugs! E-everywhere! Ah, they're gonna get us!"

"That's not bugs. It's Mom making breakfast," Token drearily said, rubbing his eyes. He flung his legs off the side of the bed. "C'mon."

The others stirred under their covers, slowly rising from their beds. "Mmn," Clyde mumbled under his blanket, refusing to move.

"C'mon," Token said, kicking the side of Clyde's mattress. "Wake up, moron."

"No," Clyde whined into his blanket. Craig crawled over the mattress, intentionally stepping on Clyde. "Ow," he yelped, throwing his blanket off. "What was that for, Craig?"

Craig yawned and flipped Clyde off before throwing his hat on over his messy hair.

"COCK!" Thomas spat. "So what's she cooking?"

"Food," Token smartly replied. "C'mon," he said, leading the others out of his room.

The five guests took their seats at the Black's dining room table, staring in awe at the incredible feast laying before them. Various expensive dishes covered the table, each holding different breakfast foods. A large decorative bowl of scrambled eggs sat beside plates of bacon and sausage, and a tower of pancakes balanced beside them, as well as a basket of biscuits. Even a small plate of strawberries sat next to a matching bowl of sugar, and in the middle were a fancy syrup pitcher and a jar of grape jelly next to the jug of milk and pot of coffee. Token took his seat beside the gawking boys, completely accustom to the large meal, as it was common for his parents to prepare such a breakfast over the summer when they had more time.

"Eat as much as you like, boys," Token's mother said. "We'll be taking our breakfast in the other room." The boys muttered their thank you's as she left.

Token was the first to dig into the food, scooping eggs and sausage onto his plate. He took a bite of bacon before looking to his left at Craig and Thomas, then infront of him at Clyde, Tweek, and Jimmy, and realizing none of them had taken any food for themselves. "What's the matter?" Token questioned.

"J-j-jesus, Token," Jimmy stuttered. "You really h-have it m-m-made, huh?"

"SHIT! You can say that again," Thomas replied.

"J-j-jesus, Token," Jimmy started again.

"Yeah, yeah," Token said, crossly. "I get it. I'm spoiled. I'm rich. I know, all right."

Clyde slapped three pancakes on his plate and proceeded to drown them in syrup. "At least you're willing to share your wealth with us commoners," he mocked. Token furrowed his brow at the comment, hiding his hurt with anger.

"ASS-HOLE!" Thomas spat. "Ugh... I don't think you're spoiled. I think it's pretty cool, actually."

"Really?" Token asked, somewhat skeptical "Thanks," he picked at his food. "I really appreciate that."

"I, on the other hand, do think you're spoiled," Clyde confirmed, taking a rather large bite out of his pancakes.

By now, all the boys had filled their plates, for once indulging their gluttony like they never could at their own homes. Tweek poured his third cup of coffee and gulped it down quickly. "Nn, this is pretty good."

Craig chuckled. "You're complementing the coffee? Not the food?"

Tweek held the mug to his mouth. "Er, the food's good too." He couldn't help but smile at the attention, despite how simple it was. He quickly finished off the rest of the cup.

Clyde sighed, leaning back in his chair. "That was good," he said, patting his belly. "I'm so full."

Thomas downed a glass of milk and wiped his mouth with his arm. "Yeah, me too," he said, trying to hold back a burp, which slipped out with a "SHIT!"

"Well," Token started sarcastically, "I'm sorry you have to deal with feeling so full. If my parents weren't so rich, maybe you would be more comfortable, huh?"

Clyde rolled his eyes. "Oh, quit being so butthurt, Token."

Craig finished off his last piece of sausage before tracing his teeth with his tongue, trying to pick out any remaining scraps of food stuck there. He stopped abruptly when he felt eyes on him.

"What?" Craig asked the boy across from him in monotone.

Tweek twitched. "N-nothing!" he screeched before slurping on his coffee.

Craig was about to pick up his retainer off the side of his plate when Clyde cupped his hands over it. Craig rose his brow. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"What would you do if I licked your retainer?" Clyde threatened.

Craig looked at his retainer, then back at Clyde. "I would punch you."

Clyde leaned forward on the table and stuck his tongue out, wagging it around.

"I'll do it," Craig warned. "I'll punch you."

"W-w-watch it Clyde," Jimmy laughed. "You don't wanna get h-hit do you?"

"Gah," Tweek screeched, gripping his shirt. "D-don't do it, Clyde. G-germs. Germs!"

Clyde leaned forward more, inching closer to Craig's plate and retainer. Clyde's tongue was almost next to the retainer when Craig placed his fist on Clyde's face, pushing him away. Clyde dramatically flung himself back into his chair, cupping his face and grunting as though he had been hit hard. "Uwaa!" he moaned.

Craig picked up his retainer, holding it between Clyde and himself. "I said I'd punch you."

"Gah," Tweek screeched. "Clyde, were you really gonna do that? You could have gotten some wierd disease that way!"

"Hey," Craig said. "Are you saying I have a disease?"

Tweek jerked his head to the side. "W-what!? N-no! I-it's just that... Well, y-y'know." He fumbled with the hem of his shirt, searching for the right words.

"Calm down," Craig finally said. "Don't worry about it. I was just joking."

"Or Clyde could have gave you a weird disease," Tweek said.

"Yeah, that sounds more likely," Token agreed.

Thomas clacked his teeth together. "What would you do if I put your retainer in my mouth?" he asked, continuing the teasing. "You wouldn't punch me, would you?"

"Ngh!" Tweek jerked in his seat, gripping his shirt.

"I would," Craig said, moving his hand between Thomas and himself. "But you won't do it," he tempted.

Thomas crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward, opening his mouth and threatening to take the retainer from Craig's fingers. "I'll do it."

"No you won't," Craig said.

"Yes I will," Thomas said.

"Then do it," Craig tempted.

"I'm gonna," Thomas warned, leaning closer.

Tweek watched the chidlish back and forth, growing nervous as Thomas neared closer to an indirect kiss with Craig. He felt his grip tighten on the cloth of his shirt, the material slipping from his fingers as his fist clenched.

"Ngh! Gaah!" Tweek screeched, his nerves finally getting the better of him as he leaned over the table, knocking Craig's retainer out of his hand and to the floor.

"SHIT!" Thomas spat in surprise. The others looked at Tweek questioningly, and Tweek could only jump back into his seat, growing more nervous, having no excuse for his behavior as all eyes were on him.

Craig sighed before leaning down and picking his retainer up off the floor. He stood from his chair. "I've gotta go rinse this off," he said before leaving the dining room.

Tweek slumped in his chair and sighed, but tensed up again when Clyde spoke. "Well, you saved Thomas from Craig's diseases," Clyde joked.

"COCK!" Thomas yelled. "I wasn't really gonna put it in my mouth," he laughed.

Tweek jerked his head to the side and squeaked, "You weren't!?"

"N-no," Thomas reassured him. "COCK-SUCKER!"

"Well," Token said to his friends standing at his door. "Thanks for coming down."

"Th-th-thanks for having us," Jimmy said, hitching his backpack on his shoulders.

"Yeah," Thomas smiled, "it was fun. Thanks for inviting me."

"Hey, no problem," Token with a slight chuckle.

"See ya," the four visitors standing outside the house said.

"Yeah," Token said. "See ya...," the two remaining boys said together. Token made a face at the second voice and turned to see Clyde still in his pajamas behind him.

"You're not leaving?" he asked in annoyance.

Clyde shrugged. "I didn't think I had to." Token rolled his eyes with an exasperated smile to his other friends as he closed the door.

The early morning cold enveloped the four boys as they made their way down the frosty streets of South Park. It was obvious summer was nearing its end.

"Y-you guys going to church tonight?" Tweek asked, mostly for the sake of having something to talk about while walking in the chilly morning weather.

"Y-yep," Jimmy answered.

"Probably," Craig shrugged.

Once again, the boys walked in silence. The tension irritated Tweek, and he looked sheepishly to Thomas. "T-thomas?" he stuttered. "W-what about you?"

"N-no," he said. "COCK! Ugh... Mom wants to settle in more before we start going to a new church."

"O-oh," Tweek said, turning his attention infront of him. He sighed as he was unable to form an interesting conversation.

"How long do you think that's gonna take?" Craig asked. Tweek felt himself twitch. Thomas gave Craig a simple reply, and Craig found a way to reply to that. Somehow the two were able to form a conversation, which irritated Tweek. There was absolutely nothing interesting about how long it would take Thomas's mom to adapt to South Park, but Craig asked as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. At least, that's how it seemed to Tweek, though it could have just been his perspective.

Jimmy was the first to have to part ways, but before he turned off, he gave Tweek a wink and said, "G-g-good luck."

Craig rose his brow at Tweek. "What was that all about?" he asked.

Tweek scrunched his face in confusion. "I-I have no idea!" he said in a strained voice.

The rest of Sunday went pretty smooth, or at least as smooth as any day could go for Tweek. He always seemed to stumble over himself anyhow, but as for complications, there were none. He went home, got ready for church, went to church where he spent the whole time passing notes between Token, Craig, and himself, went home, took a shower, and went to bed.

It always seemed to be when Tweek was in bed that the majority of his bad thoughts and paranoia really got to him. Even though he hadn't been thinking of it, Tweek suddenly remembered that Craig had spent the night with Thomas the other night. How often will the two end up staying the night with one another? Only a handful of times had Craig stayed with Tweek or vise versa. Sure, Tweek would love to spend more time with Craig outside of school, but the truth of the matter was that he was always too nervous to ask out for fear of bothering him. Also, planning ahead was out of the question because, well, anything could happen between now and then, and what if by that time, Craig would become annoyed with Tweek anyhow. Worse than that, what if Tweek made a plan to stay the night with Craig, but then he forgot and Craig got pissed and felt rejected and never wanted to see Tweek again. He might even feel so rejected and hurt that he might kill himself! All because Tweek made a plan that he forgot about! That would be way too much pressure!

No, if Tweek really wanted to protect his and Craig's friendship, he would have to put forth more of an effort. Starting tomorrow. Except Tweek had work tomorrow. That's how it was. Tweek and his dad pretty much took turns, working every other day, except on some occasions one would get an extra day off while the other worked two days, or they might both work together on some days. Still, it would seem Tweek's put forth effort would have to wait and, despite this being an annoyance, Tweek was a bit relieved by this. At least, he was relieved until he remembered that would give Thomas an extra day to have Craig to himself. Relief is pretty short lived, isn't it?

Anyhow, Tweek spent the next day just trying to do his job. Maybe it was because he had always been told this was how it was supposed to feel, but Mondays always irritated Tweek. Customers always seemed to be in crabby moods or in a big hurry on Mondays, thus shaking Tweek's nerves.

The man at the counter let out an exaggerated sigh. "Any minute now," he grumbled, eyeing his watch and tapping his foot. Tweek yelped as he fumbled with the cappuccino machine. He was pouring the milk when the man grunted sharply, causing Tweek's hand to jerk and spill some of the milk over his hand. The man rolled his eyes and sighed at this. "Great," he moaned.

"Ngh! S-sorry! J-just a moment, sir," Tweek said, wiping his hand off.

"Please, don't mind me. Take your time," the man said sarcastically, motioning with his hand. He looked at his watch again.

Tweek poured in the chocolate and set the cup on the counter, nearly tripping when he turned around. "Th-that'll be $3.30. Enjoy."

"Yeah, yeah," the man said, taking the cup and dropping his payment on the counter. He took his cappuccino to a table, took a seat, and whipped out his cell-phone as he sipped on the beverage.

Tweek sighed, realizing the man hadn't been in the hurry he pretended he was in. He went to clean the floor where he spilled the milk. A moment later, the door opened, and Tweek was glad to see his friends making there way to the counter.

"Hey man," Craig said, leaning against the counter.

"Nn," Tweek smiled. "Hey. W-what are you guys doing here."

Clyde shrugged, looking around at the crowded coffee house. "Mm... Nothing better to do. It's pretty full today."

"Are you the only one working today?" Token asked, somewhat amazed at how crowded it was.

Tweek shook his head. "N-no. I'm not," Tweek and the others turned there ears to the direction of the bathroom, where Tweek's supposed co-worker was moping and singing very off-key as he did so. Tweek sighed, crossing his arms on the counter. "But I might as well be." He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Arg! This is too much pressure!"

Jimmy elbowed Thomas. "See. Th-there you go."

Thomas gave Jimmy a small smile. "Yeah, maybe... COCK!"

Tweek jerked his head to the side. "Er, w-what are you guys talking about?"

"Thomas was talking about getting a job in South Park," Craig explained. "Y'know, to help his mom out."

"SHIT!" Thomas choked out. "I know it's hard for a single mom, so I want to help out, even if it's just a little." Tweek bit his lip. Yep, he's a caring son, too.

"If Thomas w-w-worked h-here," Jimmy stuttered with a grin. "You two would be like t-t-twins."

"Twins?" Tweek and Thomas both questioned.

"Sure," Clyde agreed. "You're both all jumpy and could probably use more sleep."

"Yeah, you both have bags under your eyes," Token added. "And you have the same sense of clothing."

"And you're both blond," Craig concluded.

Clyde patted Craig on the back. "Yes, yes, Craig. We all know you have a thing for blonds." Craig flipped Clyde off, glaring daggers at him.

Tweek twitched a bit, having just realized all these similarities. Thomas did have a lot of the same characteristics as Tweek, but he still managed to be more appealing. Of course, this was all Tweek could think about that night when he layed in bed. Sleep didn't come to Tweek that night. It was true. Thomas was the more advance version of Tweek. He was cleaner and neater with the same faults, except in Thomas's case, they were more like his charms. They both had very unique nervous ticks, but while Tweek knocked things over and spilled things, Thomas just blurted out curses.

That next morning, Tweek fumbled with his phone, knowing he wanted to call Craig, but worried too. He was worried Craig would be busy and get annoyed if he called. Finally, Tweek decided he would just send a text message, that way Craig didn't have to reply if he didn't want to. He simply sent a message saying, "Wanna come over?"

A moment later, Craig replied, "Can't. Helping dad move dresser later." Tweek sighed. He finally got up the courage to ask, but Craig was busy.

Tweek pushed reply and sent, "What about Wed after work?" He wasn't use to making plans, but Tweek needed to spend time with Craig. It was almost painful.

It took Craig a long time to reply. Tweek tapped his fingers on his phone, impatiently waiting for the reply. He started to worry that he made Craig angry by insisting on him so much. Finally, Craig replied, "Sorry. Promised Thomas I'd have supper at his house." Tweek just stared at his phone for a long, long time, unable to even twitch.

Token wasn't too surprised when Tweek barged into his bedroom, rambling on about something like he was having a panic attack. What was odd was the reasons for his freak out.

"I-i-it's not fair!" Tweek shouted, pacing about Token's bedroom. He clutched a thermos of coffee to his chest. "Arg! When do I get to spend time with Craig!? Why's he always with Thomas!?" Tweek had avoided this situation with all of his being. He didn't want to let his friends know of his distaste for Thomas, but at this point, he couldn't take it anymore.

"What's the problem?" Clyde asked, bouncing a bit on Token's bed.

Tweek gulped on his coffee. "W-what's the problem!? What's the problem!?" He paced about, throwing coffee down his throat and jerking with each step.

"Please don't spill that," Token said, leaning over the back of his couch. "Mom'll get pissed again."

Tweek tugged at his hair. "I mean, what makes him so special?"

"Wait," Clyde said, "you're upset because Craig's busy? Just hang out tomorrow."

Tweek glared at Clyde. "I can't!" He threw his thermos back and took a gulp. "He's going to Thomas's house for supper tomorrow!"

Clyde frowned. "Lucky. I wish Thomas would invite me to supper."

Tweek felt every muscle in him spasm. "Why!?" he yelled, getting in Clyde's face.

Clyde pulled back a bit, raising a brow at Tweek. "Because man, it's Thomas. He's just cool like that."

"Aaarg!" Tweek stumbled backwards, shoving his hands into his blond hair and slamming his eyes shut.

"You don't like Thomas?" Clyde asked, his voice showing that he could barely comprehend his words.

"I...," Tweek started. "Thomas is fine. He's nice. R-really nice."

"Gee, Tweek," Jimmy finally said after keeping quiet throughout Tweek's rant. "If I d-didn't know any better, I'd think you were j-j-jealous. Don't you think this whole conversation is a little g-gay?"

Tweek's eyes snapped open. "W-what!? No way man!" He threw his hands up defensivly, still holding his thermos in one.

Jimmy grinned and looked at Token and Clyde, who looked back questioningly. Jimmy looked back at Tweek and said, "W-what color are Craig's eyes?"

Tweek jerked his head to the side. "Er, brown. B-but what does that have to do..."

Jimmy put his hands over his eyes, and Token and Clyde soon followed. "Now, what about our eyes?"

Tweek rose his brow. He looked at the other boys nervously before finally saying, "Uh, Token has brown eyes."

Token uncovered his eyes. "Duh," he said.

Tweek looked between Jimmy and Clyde. "Uh, Clyde has, er, brown eyes?" Clyde uncovered his eyes to show he did, in fact, have brown eyes. "A-and Jimmy has..." Tweek thought for a moment. "Brown eyes?"

Jimmy shook his head, uncovering his eyes to show that he actually had blue eyes. "B-blue. You knew Token's because it was obvious. You weren't sure about Clyde, and you got me wrong. You knew Craig's for sure."

Tweek gripped his shirt. "Th-that doesn't prove anything! I-I'm not gay!"

"Then why are you so jealous?" Token asked, his interest actually raising.

"I'm not gay!" Tweek screeched. "I'm straight! This has nothing to do with that!"

"Dude, relax," Clyde laughed.

"You relax!" Tweek shrieked before turning around and rushing out of Token's room.

"Hm," Clyde hummed. "I think he thought you were serious."

Jimmy looked at Clyde with a smirk. "W-who said I wasn't s-serious?"


	4. Ch:4 Rain

A/N: Finally, the way over due fourth chapter! Again, I am so sorry this took so long to get up. School was super stressful lately, so I took forever with this. (Excuses, excuses.) I swear, I was thinking about this the whole time! Anyways, this is the last chapter! Woo-hoo! A big, big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story. Thank you all so much! As Craig would say, you make me soo happy. Please enjoy this chapter! Oh yeah, and keep watching, because there will be an epilogue!

**A Metaphor for Jealousy:**

**Ch:4 - Rain**

Tweek paced quickly down the road, cheeks burning from his previous encounter. He clutched his thermos to his chest in an attempt to calm his racing heart. _Why did I have to go and say all that? _Tweek thought. _Why did I have to tell them that. That I didn't like Thomas. That I thought he was steeling Craig from me. That..._

He halted, gripping his thermos tighter. Jimmy had acted so sure that Tweek must have feelings for Craig. Surely knowing someone's eye color didn't hold much merit. Tweek shook his head and continued his walk. _Then again, _he thought, _I guess I did go in there saying a bunch of stuff about Craig, and he could have took that the wrong way. _Tweek turned the corner into a shop lined street, his body shivering to the beat of his heart. _I mean, Craig is awesome, and I won't lie, he is good looking, but that doesn't automatically mean I'm attracted to him. Sure, I like to hang out with him, and I'd rather sit next to him than Clyde or Token. So I guess I'm more drawn to him. Wait, isn't that what attracted means? _Tweek ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a whimper. _Oh man, I'm so confused!_

Tweek kept his pace until his reflection in a store window caught his eye. What he saw didn't please him. Shivers coursed through him at a continuous rate. Blond, disheveled hair frizzed up randomly, and dark bags surrounded his bug eyes, resembling, to Tweek, something like muddy water surrounding an air bubble. Had recent events really affected him this much? Had he really been losing more and more sleep over it? Tweek sighed, tugging at his shirt. _Even if I did like Craig, he wouldn't go for someone like me. I'm a mess. _"Ngh," Tweek muttered, slamming his right eye shut.

Upon returning home, Tweek dealt with his confusion the only way he knew how. He thrashed about in his bedroom, tearing his sheets from his bed and throwing them to the floor before slamming his body against the bare mattress and rolling around. Letting out various groans and whimpers, Tweek clawed at his hair, angrily attempting to undo all the small knots and tangles. "Gah! Stupid Thomas!" Tweek shouted. As far as he was concerned, Thomas was to blame for all of his depression. "Stupid Thomas and his stupid...," he thought before slamming his fists against the coarse material, "face!" he decided.

Tweek fell back into his bed, starring blankly at his alarm clock. He rubbed his blood-shot eyes roughly before throwing his arms down his sides. Exhaustion engulfed Tweek, and he felt feverish. Weakly, he pulled his phone from his pocket, examining his wallpaper. "Craig," he muttered, yet the name sounded so distant. "Craig," he said again against the pressure in his chest.

Suddenly, Tweek's door flew open. "Tweek," his mom said, but didn't continue when she saw the mess of a bedroom.

"Gah!" Tweek shrieked, quickly cramming his phone back in his pocket. "M-mom, knock next time! Jesus!"

"Sorry Tweek," she said, looking around at the various thrown about objects. "Is something the matter?"

Tweek sat up on his bed. "N-no, I'm fine." He tugged at his shirt. "Ngh."

"Oh, hon," she said, making her way to the bed and taking a seat beside her son. "If something's the matter, you can tell me. I'll try to help as best I can."

Tweek smiled a bit at the offer, but shook his head, knowing there was nothing his mom could do. It wasn't like he had a good reason to be upset. "No, mom. I'm OK. H-honest."

"Well, alright," she said, rubbing Tweek's back. "I understand. If it's girl trouble, you wouldn't want to ask your parents for help."

Tweek nearly choked up the coffee he had been drinking earlier. "G-girl trouble!? What makes you think it's girl trouble!?"

Tweek's mom merely tilted her head to the side. "I just assumed by the way you've been acting lately that it was girl trouble. You just seemed so preoccupied. You reminded me of when I was about your age and having romantic troubles of my own."

"R-really?" Tweek said, now interested in what his mom had to say, not that his troubles were romantic to any extent. "W-what happened?"

His mom placed a finger to her chin, contemplating her past. "You see, when I was about your age, I had a crush on this boy. He was somewhat of an outcast, so I always figured I would never have any competition. That's why I never tried to pursue him. I figured he would always be there, and I wouldn't have to worry. Then, this bimbo of an upperclassman, Nancy Pinkerton I think was her name, all of a sudden started talking to him all the time."

Tweek turned more to face his mom. "And?" he questioned, urging her to continue.

She folded her hands in her lap. "Well, as you might imagine, I became insanely jealous. Nancy was one of the most attractive girls in school, so I figured she could take him easily. It became more and more difficult for me to concentrate in school and on my homework." She laughed. "I became so furious whenever I thought about her. That's when I realized I had messed up by just assuming he would always be there." She smiled at her son, who continued to look at her with interest.

"So what did you do?" Tweek asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Tweek frowned. "What did you do to beat Nancy?"

"Oh," her eyebrows shot up, "nothing."

Tweek wanted to slam his head against a brick wall.

"I believe it turned out I was wrong and she just wanted discounts at his parents store or something," she explained, laughing a bit.

He really should have seen this coming. Neither of his parents were ever any good at story telling, seeing as how their stories never seemed to go anywhere. It was torture, like they were telling him to figure everything out himself!

She stood up and walked to the door. "Oh, Tweek, would you please do the dishes? And would you please clean your room up, too?"

Tweek groaned, but agreed. he didn't really want to do the dishes, or clean his room for that matter, but he knew as well as anybody that when your parents ask you to do something, they're actually telling you. When he stood up, Tweek felt the lump in his pocket and pulled his cell phone out. Apparently, he had neglected to close it when he stuck it in his pocket. Tweek shook his head at himself. He had treated it as though it were contraband worth hiding.

By the time Tweek had cleaned his room and made his way to the kitchen, it had started raining. Tweek frowned at the water running down the window. Absently, he washed the several mugs and dirty plates as he stared into the pouring rain. It wouldn't be much longer until the rain turned into snow, and things would hopefully be a little less gloomy.

Tweek was not a fan of the rain. Sleeping was hard enough as it was, and the needle hitting sound of the rain above his head only served to mock his attempts. Not only that, but he was absolutely terrified of going into the garage while it was raining because, well, the sound of the drops hitting the metal was frightening! Simple as that!

Tweek whimpered. Something as simple as washing dishes made Tweek scornful of his parents, unlike Thomas, who was a caring son, willing to do anything to help his mom. He wanted so badly to be better than Thomas, not that he had been putting forth the effort.

He could still remember the first time he met Thomas. It was in fourth grade when Clyde, Token, and him were playing by Stark's Pond. Craig had ran up to them with a confused looking boy in tow; Craig with some sort of excitement on his face.

"Hey guys," Craig said, pulling Thomas forward. "This is Thomas. He's the coolest kid in the whole world," he said, eyes clouding over in delight.

"Woah," Clyde stupidly replied.

Token, more quizzical than his friend, examined Thomas before saying, "Hey Thomas. I'm Token." he pointed his thumb at Clyde. "And he's Clyde."

Thomas hesitated before replying with, "H-hi, Token." He turned to Clyde. "Hey... COCK NOSE! STUPID SHIT!" Thomas quickly clasped his hands over his mouth, face turning red.

"What did you say!?" Clyde barked, balling his fists up.

Thomas shook his head, speaking frantically. "N-no! I didn't mean it! SHIT! DUMB SHIT!"

Clyde grabbed the collar of Thomas's shirt, pulling him to his face, "Say that again!" Clyde shouted.

Craig put a hand on Clyde's chunky arm. "Dude," Craig said, "it's cool. He has Tourettes."

Clyde examined the boy, as if that would tell him whether or not Craig was telling the truth, before letting go. Token crossed his arms studiously and said, "Tourettes? You mean like Cartman?"

Thomas scoffed. "That fat kid didn't have Tourettes Syndrome. He was faking."

Craig grinned. "But Thomas is for real. He's the coolest kid ever." He clasped his hands together, looking dreamily to the sky. "If I could call Clyde a stupid dumb shit to his face, I would be soo happy."

Clyde scowled at him. "I'm not stupid," he whined.

"Of course not, Clyde," Token said, sarcastically. "You're a genius."

At first, Clyde smiled before realizing the tone to which Token had said that. "Wait," he said, slapping his arms against his legs. "Was that sarcasm? It was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

Token and Thomas laughed while Clyde just pouted. Craig was glad to see his friends getting along, but he realized something was missing. He looked around the pond until he found what he was looking for.

"Tweek," he said to the kid hiding behind a tree.

"Gah-hah!" Tweek replied, digging his nails into bark. He had taken sanctuary in the hidding spot amidst the excitement.

Craig took hold of Tweek's trembling hand and pulled him to Thomas. "Thomas," he said, pushing Tweek forward. "This is Tweek. He's also my friend."

Tweek stumbled forward and looked worriedly at Thomas. Soon, Tweek's apprehension left him. Thomas gave him one of the most vibrant smiles he had ever seen, and Tweek could tell right away that maybe this was a good guy. He wouldn't be someone who would mock him every time his back was turned, or spill coffee in his lap to spite him. This Thomas was a good guy.

"Hi, Tweek," Thomas said, holding his hand out.

Tweek hesitantly took his hand and shook it lightly. "Ngh. H-hi, Thomas."

"AH, SHIT!"

"GAAH-AAH!"

That had been so long ago, and it hadn't took too long after that when Tweek realized his distaste for Thomas. Something about him made Craig cherish him more than any of his other friends, including Tweek.

The sound of a shattering coffee mug brought Tweek out of his stupor. "Arg! Oh no!" he cried before crouching to the floor to pick up the pieces. One by one he carefully placed each shard in his left hand. This was just one more broken dish that could be added to his expansive list.

Tweek yelped in pain, dropping a shard. A small bead of red swelled on the tip of his right index finger before growing too heavy and trickling to the side. "Aaah! B-blood!" Tweek wailed after a moment. He quickly stood up to the sink when his left hand clenched, allowing the other shards to slice his palm. "Gaah!" Tweek cried, dropping the glass, save for the few shards that stuck to his palm. Tweek's eyes widened at the bloody site.

Tweek bolted through the living room. "Arg! D-don't go in there! I-I'll clean it up!" he called to his parents who were nestled together on the couch, use to their son's overreactions. "Blood! Blood! Aah!"

Tweek rushed into the bathroom, turning on the sink with his wrists before shakily washing his wounded hands. Then, with his forearms, Tweek opened the medicine cabinate and pulled out the much depended on first aid kit. He fell onto the toilet before doctoring up his hands. "Oh God, please don't let it get infected. God, please," he prayed, fidgeting as he rubbed antibiotic ointment on his hands.

By the end, Tweek examined his bandages. His right index finger was covered by a band-aid above the top knuckle, and his left hand was wrapped in a bandage, as well as band-aids around the center of his left middle and ring fingers. Tweek groaned at himself. "Get it together, Tweek," he said, hitting his back against the cistern. "Get it together."

After sweeping up the glass, Tweek took his seat at the dining room table. His mother appeared to have made some sort of pasta concoction. It was probably a variation of something from one of her many cookbooks. She was quite fond of cooking up many different recipes, and despite how some of them looked, they usually were very delicious.

"Why Cindy, this is one of the best dishes you've made in a while," Richard complemented. Tweek flipped a noodle around with his fork, not feeling particularly hungry.

"Well thank you, Richard. I ate something like this at a dinner once, and I had to ask for the recipe." Cindy went on.

"Here Tweek," Richard said, handing Tweek the coffee pot. Tweek muttered his thanks and filled his mug. "Tweek," Richard said again, "your mother tells me you've been stressed out. Is that true?"

Tweek thought for a moment. Yes, he was stressed out, but when was he not stressed out? Was he stressed out any more than usual? What good would it do to tell his dad if he was stressed out? "Ngh," Tweek shrugged.

Richard and Cindy looked at each other before looking back at Tweek. "If you want, you could take tomorrow off." Tweek's eyes shot up at this. "But you'll have to work Thursday and Friday to make up for that. I don't want you to forget about your responsibilities. You do seem like you could use a day off."

Tweek nodded. "Yeah. I'd like a day off. Thanks," he said, swirling noodles around his fork.

Richard ate at his pasta before saying, "Don't thank me. Thank your mom. She's the one that asked me to let you have a day off. I could really use the help too. They really have my balls in a salad shooter."

Tweek smiled. "Th-thanks mom," he said before sticking his fork in his mouth. "Ngh, this is good," he muttered.

Tweek laid in bed that night, listening to the annoying rain hitting the roof, thankful that his mother was so understanding. He knew some people's parents wouldn't think twice about their children's problems. Tweek rolled onto his side and played with the bit of bandage sticking up past his palm, pushing the flaps between his fingers. He did not want Craig to see his hands in that condition. Surely, Craig already knew how big of a klutz he was, but this was just pathetic. He could be such a girl sometimes. It was so girly, in a lot of ways, to lay around in bed sulking over emotional baggage. Yet there he laid, doing just that.

"Craig," he said again, feeling the pressure in his chest. Tweek groaned and tugged at his hair. "Arg! Get out of my head!"

He could almost hear Jimmy laughing at him. _You can't get him out of your head, _he imagined him saying. _You can't stop thinking about him because you like him. You don't like Thomas because you're jealous. You're so jealous. It has nothing to do with friendship. It never had anything to do with friendship. You have a pathetic, longing, desperate crush on Craig Tucker! _Tweek could hear Jimmy telling him this, and yet he knew Jimmy had never said these things. This was all what Tweek had been thinking all along.

Tweek awoke the next morning in ague. His shirt stuck to his back, and his hair clung to his oily face. White dots danced in the air in the beam of light shining through the curtains, and Tweek blinked at the light, turning his head to his clock when his heart skipped. "Gaah!" he screamed, leaping out of bed. "Ten thirty! Gaah! I'm late for work!" Tweek bounded into the bathroom and frantically splashed water in his face, attempting to wash away the sweat and oils. Dripping, Tweek crammed his toothbrush in his mouth. "Arg! W-why didn't Dad wake me up! Gah! He forgot about me!? I didn't go to work! He's gonna kill me! Aaah!"

Tweek ran back to his room and almost literally threw his clothes on before running down stairs. He tripped at the bottom stair, but sprang right back up. Cindy walked into the living room with two cups of coffee. "Oh, Tweek," she said. "Good morning... Uh, Tweek?"

Tweek grabbed ahold of the door handle. "Mom, I-I'm late for work!" he gasped. "Why didn't anybody wake me up!? Aah!" he yelled before throwing open the door and running outside, only to turn around, run back in, gulp down his coffee, and head back out the door.

"Tweek," his mother called after him when he opened the door. "You don't have work today, remember?"

Tweek stood dumbfounded at the door until Cindy closed it for him. His right eye twitched a few times. "Ngh," he whimpered, walking back to the stairs. "O-oh yeah." He slumped up the stairs, tired of his spastic behavior.

The bandage on Tweek's left hand had become loose and worn from the water. Slowly, he unraveled his dressing, preparing to change it. Deep cuts still decorated his pale palm. He tried to clench his hand, but the pain got to him too much. Tweek could never stand the thought of pain, or any sort of messing with a wound. He couldn't stand how some girls would cover open wounds with make up. He shuddered just at the thought of dirt and bacteria making its way into sensitive flesh.

"Ngh. You wimp," Tweek muttered to himself as he wrapped the new bandage around his hand.

Once his mom left, Tweek descended to the living room. He sat on the couch, letting the news play as his thoughts wandered. Tweek had fallen asleep that last night while battling with his emotions. He still couldn't believe that he could like Craig, but he couldn't deny that he felt something stronger than friendship. The more he thought about it, the girlier he felt.

The clock showed 12:53. Craig and Thomas were probably already together. Tweek grumbled at the thought, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, playing with the idea of calling Craig. As usual, he became nervous. He worried about being a bother. Still, the idea of Thomas having Craig all to himself pushed Tweek to press those particular numbers.

The phone rang twice before Craig's nasaly voice answered. "Hello?" Tweek smiled. Craig's voice was so unique, and it suited him so well.

"Nn, h-hey. It's Tweek," he said.

"I know," Craig said.

"Oh, right," Tweek replied, feeling foolish again.

"Thomas says hi," Craig said. Tweek frowned. He was right. They were already together.

"Er, hi Thomas," Tweek said. "Uh, I didn't have to go to work today."

"Why?" Craig said sounding a little depressed. Tweek had hoped he would be a little bit happier that he was free. "You aren't sick are you?"

"N-no, Dad just said I didn't have to." Tweek jerked his head to the side. He didn't want to tell Craig about how emotional and girly he was being.

There was a shuffling sound for a moment on Craig's side before another voice spoke. "Hey Tweek!" Thomas said before a muffled, "COCK!" was heard. "You're off work?"

"Gaah! T-Thomas. Yeah, I'm off. Er, why?" Tweek asked.

"Meet us at Shakey's in thirty minutes. ASS!" Thomas said.

Tweek could hear Craig faintly in the background saying, "What did you do that for?" as if he was angry Thomas had invited him. Tweek frowned. "Tweek," Craig said into the phone.

"Gah! Y-yes?" he replied.

"Can you come?" Craig asked. "To Shakey's I mean."

Tweek perked up. "O-of course! Er, I'll meet you guys there!" He hung up the phone and picked up his mug from the coffee table, gazing into the brown liquid. His heart began to race. "Ngh! C-calm down, Tweek!" He gulped down the coffee, attempting to sooth his nerves.

Three cups of coffee later, Tweek made his way across town. He arrived at the pizza place to see Thomas and Craig sitting across from each other at a booth, chatting away happily. Thomas had his back to the door, so Craig was the first to notice him.

"Tweek," Craig said, waving. Tweek smiled before making his way to the table, keeping his left hand behind his back. Again, Tweek's heart began to race as he sat down beside Craig. Craig pushed a fountain drink towards him suddenly, making him jump with a small yelp. "A large Coke," he said. "What's up?"

Tweek chewed on his lip, bending forward on the table and moving his head to the drink. "N-nothing much," he said, placing his lips on his straw and taking a drink. He looked back up at Craig. "Er, you?"

Craig averted his eyes, turning to look out the window. "Not much," he said, taking a bite from his pizza. Tweek chewed on his straw, feeling hurt by Craig's distant words. Again, he felt like such a girl, feeling so down.

"SHIT!" Thomas choked out. "You didn't happen to see Token and them on your way, did you?"

Tweek jerked a bit. "No. Ngh! I didn't know they were coming."

Thomas frowned as he pulled out his cell-phone. Tweek looked to Craig, but Craig kept his eyes on the window. "Mnn," Tweek groaned, looking down at the table.

"Clyde?" Thomas said into the phone. "Hey, what's taking you guys?"

"They were supposed to meet us here," Craig explained, taking another bite of pizza.

"SHIT!" Thomas blurted. "What? We're at Shakey's. Where are you?" Craig and Tweek looked to each other, curious. "What?" Thomas said. "Outside? Oh! Alright. COCK!" Thomas slid out of his bench, covering the mouth piece. "Guys, I need to take this outside."

Thomas turned to walk out the door, and Tweek could see Craig reach out, as if he didn't want Thomas to leave. He couldn't help but glare at Thomas as he left. Craig sighed, putting his hand on the table. Tweek sat up in his seat, instinctively scooting towards the edge of the bench.

"aren't you gonna eat any pizza?" Craig asked.

"Gah!" Tweek jumped. His heart began racing again. He was alone with Craig, meaning he had to talk to him! Tweek wasn't good at starting conversations, but that wasn't even the main problem. "Ngh! I-I'll eat," he said through a dry mouth. No amount of Coke seemed to wet his whistle. He didn't like knowing how uncomfortable he was around Craig. Why couldn't he just be calm like Thomas?

"It looks like it's about to rain," Craig contemplated, looking out the window at the gray skies. Tweek groaned, slouching in his seat. "You don't really like rain though, do you?"

"N-no," Tweek said, spinning his straw with his right hand. He kept his left hand in his lap.

Again, the two sat in awkward silence, and Tweek couldn't help but wonder what was taking Thomas so long. He knew it was silly considering, but at least Thomas knew how to hold a conversation.

"So," Craig started, "I guess we'll be juniors in two weeks. Are you ready?"

Tweek nodded. "I-I guess. W-wait a minute..." Tweek stared wide-eyed at Craig. "T-two weeks!"

Craig hitched back a bit. "Yeah man. August eighth. Did you forget?"

Tweek stared at Craig for a moment longer before his eye twitched. "Gaah!" he yelped, a look of terror on his face. "I-I totally forgot!" Tweek grabbed on to the front of Craig's jacket. "W-what am I gonna do, man! I-I'm not ready! I can't do it!"

Craig backed against the window, looking nervously at Tweek. "Er, I don't think you have to worry. You can get ready for school in two weeks."

"C-craig! I can't get ready in two weeks! Gah!" he cried, still clenching onto Craig's jacket. "That is way too much pressure!"

"Crap," Craig muttered, pushing Tweek off of him. Tweek fell back into his seat before hearing the laughing to his left.

"Well, well, w-well," Jimmy laughed. Thomas had returned with them, putting more pizza on the table.

"What were you guys doing?" Thomas asked accusingly before sitting down beside Token. Clyde had already stolen his seat by the window. Jimmy sat beside Tweek, pushing against him.

Tweek felt his face heat up at the incriminating stares. He crammed a slice of pizza in his mouth to avoid talking.

"We went all the way to Whistling Willy's," Clyde said. "Because Thomas said pizza place. Not Shakey's."

"COCK!" Thomas spat. "I said Shakey's. You weren't listening."

"It's not like you were the one driving anyway, Clyde, so what are you complaining about?" Token said, taking a slice to his mouth. "So school starts up in two weeks."

Tweek groaned, and he felt a cold chill when he heard Craig trying to cover up a chuckle. He felt so embarrassed about his outburst, and he definitely didn't like that Craig was laughing at him. He knew Craig must think he was such an idiot.

"Hey," Token said. "I was eating that." He was referring to a piece of pizza Clyde had snatched.

"Too bad," Clyde said through a mouth full. "Just buy yourself another one. Or five. Y'know. Whatever."

Token rolled his eyes, reaching for Clyde's drink and said, "Go ahead. I slobbered all over it, but I'm sure you don't mind, tubby." He stuck the straw in his mouth, but quickly recoiled in disgust. "Ew! You really did slobber all over this!" He slammed the cup in front of Clyde.

Clyde laughed sadistically. "That's what you get. I'm surprised Tweek isn't freaking out right now."

Tweek looked up. "What?"

"You always get freaked out by stuff like that," Clyde explained. "You're like those people who think you shouldn't have any sort of contact unless you're married," he said, laughing.

"Ngh!" Tweek jerked. "I-if Craig and Thomas got married, Craig's husband would have the same name as his dad!" As soon as those words left his lips, he wished he could take them back. Now the others were giving him odd looks, and he hated it. The only one who seemed amused was Jimmy, but that wasn't any better!

"AH, SHIT!" Thomas spat. Both he and Craig looked bothered by the comment. Neither had very close relationships with their dads. "I hadn't noticed that before," Thomas said meekly.

Craig nudged Tweek. "I need to go to the bathroom," he said, not sounding so much sad as annoyed. Tweek and Jimmy slid out to let him go.

Clyde stretched out and put his arms behind the bench. "That's what your store needs, Tweek," he said, noting the small T.V. in the corner. "I bet you would get a lot more business if you had a T.V. in your place."

"Gah! No way, man," Tweek said, shaking his head. "There could be cameras in those! I don't want the government watching me work! Gah! No!"

"You do realize that's a myth don't you?" Token asked.

Tweek shook at the thought. "Ngh! You can't know that for sure! It's out of the question! I don't even have a T.V. in my room! All of you that do, the government is watching you change clothes every morning!"

"Well," Jimmy said, "w-wasn't your dad telling you to think of ways to gain more c-c-customers?"

Tweek sighed. "Yeah, but he's thinking more like metaphors. Er, catch phrases and stuff to put in the paper. Ngh, it's so stupid though. I don't even know how he comes up with some of his metaphors." Tweek ran his fingers through his hair.

"What metaphors?" Token asked.

Tweek thought for a moment. "Like, the other day. He said something about how his coffee was like a cool breeze that calms the soul on a summer's day. Ngh! Coffee's not cooling! I-if anything, it should be like a warm breeze on a winter's day! His metaphors are annoying!"

"Uh," Thomas started. "Similes."

Tweek twitched. "W-what?"

"You said, 'like,' COCK! So that makes it a simile," he explained.

Tweek could feel his back spasm. He had gone his whole life listening to his father's metaphors, and now Thomas was sitting here, telling him that his whole life, he had been making the same gramatical mistake over and over again? So it was reveled. Thomas was smarter than him too.

"Ooh," Clyde said. "So like, Tweek would be the metaphor for paranoia."

"Oh d-d-definitely," Jimmy agreed. "That r-really suits him very much." Tweek shrunk in his seat, not very taken with the comparison.

"Sorry that took so long," Craig said, motioning for Jimmy to get up so he could get back in. Jimmy and Tweek slid out of the seat.

"SHIT!" Thomas spat. "Hey Craig, having coffee related troubles?" Tweek didn't understand this comment, but decided to ignore it until Jimmy began to laugh and Craig glared at the two of them.

Tweek felt hurt. Again, he didn't understand what was being said. This was another inside joke that he was outside of. They had been teasing Craig, but Tweek hadn't been important enough to be told the joke. Did Craig really not see him as someone worth noting? Obviously, Thomas was. Thomas was neater, cleaner, more charming, and more intelligent, and he could always make Craig so happy. The thought of that was sickening. Dull nails embedded in gauze as his fists clenched independently.

"Tweek," Craig said, sliding into his seat. "What happened to your hand?"

Tweek could hear his heart beating so heavily against his chest that he barely heard the question, let alone register it. His blood was boiling, and his eyes stung. "Ngh, I need to go home."

"Go home? Why?" Clyde asked.

"AH, SHIT!" Thomas shouted, standing up. "Yeah, don't go."

Tweek glared, sure that he looked more hurt than angry. He could hardly hide his hurt anymore. He walked by Thomas, roughly hitting his shoulder, but sadly, it was Tweek who stumbled. Embarrassed, he headed for the door, touching the front of his shoulder and hoping they wouldn't notice. Tweek pushed the door open and slipped out, hitting against the cinder block wall.

"Ngh!" Tweek whimpered, feeling so embarrassed. His pulse quickened painfully, and his stomach clenched. Gray clouds covered the sky, seeming to intensify the cold air. Tweek walked forward before breaking into a run. He hated this feeling of jealousy and inferiority. The cold stung his lungs as he ran. He wanted to run until his muscles burnt and his throat turned raw from the cold. He wanted to run until his physical pain outweighed his emotional pain.

Tears that had been held back for so long finally fell. "N-not now!" Tweek cried, rubbing his arm across his eyes as he ran. "Stop - ngh - crying, you girl!" The tears didn't listen. They continued to stream down his face, and as if to mock him, it began to rain. Tweek ran until he was completely soaked, tears and rain mixing. Finally, he saw the storage buildings ahead of him. The small protrusion of concrete was hardly shelter, but it was the nearest thing between Tweek and home.

He slammed his back against the red, metal shutter. Even the sound of the rain against the metal didn't bother him now. He stared up at the sky, watching the rain pour as his chest heaved. Already, he became too tired to run anymore. Tweek had never been athletic in any sense of the word. A hiccup escaped him as more tears strolled down his cheeks. He clenched his shirt, sliding down the door until he sat on the concrete ground, pulling his knees up.

"Why?" he cried, burying his face in his hands. "Ngh! Why am I being like this?" Clyde had been wrong when he said Tweek was the metaphor for paranoia. If anything, Tweek was the metaphor for jealousy, because he was so pathetically jealous of Thomas it was stupid. Yes, he was jealous, and yes, he liked Craig. It was really stupid to deny it. It had been so obvious. Air slurped between Tweek's teeth as he sniffled and gasped. He ran his fingers through his hair, groping at it. "I-it doesn't matter anyway!"

"Tweek?" asked a very recognizable voice.

"GAAH-AAH!" Tweek yelped, slamming against the door and trying with all his might to phase through it. "C-Craig!" he trembled, face red. "W-what are you doing!? Gah! You're soaked! You're gonna catch a cold!"

Craig stood in the rain, drenched and breathing heavily. A drop fell from the bangs sticking out from his hat. "It started raining. You didn't have an umbrella, so I thought I'd find you."

Tweek jerked to the right. "You don't have one either!" Craig flipped him off, looking away with red cheeks. "Gah!" he shrieked. "Y-your face! You are getting a fever! Arg!"

Craig stuffed his hands in his pockets, his face reddening. "Shut up, Tweek. I'm not sick." He moved closer to the building, taking a seat beside Tweek. "Geez, you're soaked," he said, wiping Tweek's tears with his sleeve.

Tweek blushed. "I-I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Sorry for what?" Craig asked, bringing his hand back.

"Ngh," Tweek twitched. "I made you worried. You don't have to worry about me anymore though."

Craig looked down at Tweek. "You don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything. Besides, I'm always worried about you."

Tweek blinked up at him, a little confused. "W-what?"

"Er," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I'm sorry too. I don't know if you noticed, but I feel like I've been avoiding you. I just... Well, I just had something that I needed Thomas's help with."

Tweek put his hands together. "You can talk to me! Ngh, I-I mean, if you want."

Craig ran his hand over his face. "No. It's complicated." Tweek looked disappointed. "I'm sorry."

Tweek shook his head. "Don't be. I'm just being j-jealous," he said, hating the word.

Craig stared at Tweek, a stern look on his face. "Do you really not know why I don't like Stan and Kyle's group?"

Tweek jerked. "N-no."

"Because," Craig said, "they took you."

Tweek's brow shot up. "W-what?"

"In fourth grade," he explained. "You left my group for theirs." Craig fiddled with one of his ear flaps. "I know. It's stupid to still be jealous after so many years." Tweek stared wide-eyed for a moment, taking in the words. "What?" Craig asked, feeling embarrassed.

Suddenly, Tweek began to laugh. First, just giggles, but it soon became full blown laughing.

"Oh great," Craig said, pulling his hat down. "Now you're laughing at me."

"I-I'm sorry!" Tweek laughed. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Ngh! I'm not laughing at you! I-I swear!" He couldn't tell Craig, but he was so happy to know that Craig cared about him enough to be jealous.

For a long while, the two watched the rain fall in an oddly comfortable silence. "C-Craig?" Tweek said, looking forward.

"What?" he asked in that familiar monotone that Tweek loved so much.

Tweek shook his head. Slowly, he lent to the right until his head rested on Craig's shoulder. Maybe he didn't have to tell Craig now. "A-after it stops raining, can we get coffee?"

"Sure," Craig said. Tweek smiled, closing his eyes. He could really go for some coffee, but he wouldn't mind if it kept raining for a while longer.


	5. Epilogue Snow

A/N: Hello again everybody! I have finally posted the epilogue. Yay! Thank you again so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. You all mean so much to me. Please enjoy!

**A Metaphor for Jealousy:**

**Epilogue - Snow**

Coffee beans filled the giant cup, seaming to hold an array of different flavors. A delicious aroma filled the air. Gently, Tweek wallowed in the center of the beans, moving his arms and legs to form an angel. He scooped handfuls, taking in the aroma and picking out the different flavors swimming within the conglomeration. "Is this what Heaven's like?" Tweek wondered aloud, rolling onto his side.

Suddenly, the beans in the center began to cave in, draining and pulling Tweek with it. The room blacked out, and a loud alarm wailed with a flashing red light.

"Aaah!" Tweek screamed, trying in vain to stay above the beans. "H-help! Somebody! Gah!" He went under, unable to breath as he felt himself being pulled deeper into the depths of the cup. His screams for help went unheard. He just continued to sink deeper and deeper into impending death.

"Tweek!" Cindy yelled, turning her son's alarm off. Tweek's eyes popped open.

"M-mom?" he peeped, blinking at the figure before him.

She slapped her hand on the bed. "Tweek, it's time to get up for school. Now come on," she said before leaving the room.

Tweek turned to his clock, his heart beating fast. "I-it was just a dream," he panted before sighing in relief. The clock showed 6:32. Time to wake up.

The air was cold, nearly freezing, and Tweek trudged to school, gripping his thermos for warmth. He wasn't too nervous about this school year. He didn't imagine it to be any different than his sophomore year. Sure, the work would be a bit harder, but that wasn't so bad, was it? He bit his lip, realizing the amount of work that lied ahead. He had barely passed Geometry, and now he had to take Algebra II! Maybe this year would be different. Maybe he would fail, and get shipped to some alternative school for delinquents who would beat him up, murder him, and take his body away to the woods!

"Tweek!" A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Ga-ah!" he yelped. "T-Thomas, don't do that!" he said, clutching his chest.

"Ah SHIT! Sorry," Thomas laughed. Tweek's feelings towards Thomas had changed a bit over the past two weeks. Plenty of times, he would still become jealous over simple things, though he wouldn't feel quite as threatened as before. "You excited?"

"About school?" Tweek asked. "No way!" He took a drink from his thermos. "Are you?"

"Well, maybe a little since it's a new school." Thomas laughed. "I'm also a little nervous. COCK!"

The two blonds reached the high school, and, deciding to wait for their friends, stood by the entrance. Slowly, more students arrived, some hanging around outside, others making their way into the gym.

"Hey," Craig said, walking up to the two. "Morning."

"Morning," they said.

Craig rubbed his hands together and let out a sniffle. "Let's go inside. It's too cold out here," he said, letting out another sniffle. Tweek smiled to himself, entertained by how much Craig hated the cold, despite growing up in it, and the way he would wriggle his nose when he sniffled reminded him of a rabbit, or in this case, a guinea pig. How he could have thoughts like these and not realize his feelings for the other boy, he didn't know.

"SHIT! Are we not gonna wait for Clyde and Token?" Thomas asked.

"They'll figure it out." Craig blew into his hands.

"Ngh. There they are," Tweek jerked.

They watched as Token's car drove across the parking lot. Token seemed to be yelling at Clyde, who was leaning against the window, yawning, and most likely not listening to a word he was saying. He pulled into his parking space, and the two got out to walk to the entrance.

Token was still arguing to Clyde when he reached the others. "I mean," he said, "I don't go to your house and eat all your food. And put the toilet seat up when you use the bathroom."

Clyde held up limp wrists and spoke with a valley girl accent. "How dare you piss on my golden toilet seat! I don't want to get my royal ass all wet," he said, prancing up to Craig. He pulled out his phone and dropped the accent. "Look, Craig," he handed Craig his phone and slumped down, hanging on to the ramp railing.

Token rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Fine, don't listen to me."

"SHIT!" Thomas laughed. "I have to admit, I'm a little nervous." He eyed the small sign that read 'South Park High School'. "Going to a new school and all. I mean, I'm a little excited, too."

"Just give it two weeks," Craig said, giving Clyde his phone back. "You'll be sick of it."

"Two weeks?" Clyde laughed. "It just took me a day, and I hated it." He slid his phone back in his pocket.

"Yeah but," Token started, "you cried your eyes out the first day. Remember?"

Clyde punched Token in the arm. "Dude!" The others busted into laughter.

Craig grabbed onto the door handle. "Come on," he said, disrupting the laughter. "Let's go inside. I'm freezing."

They entered the cacophony of teenagers in the school gymnasium. It didn't take long to find Jimmy sitting on the far side of the gym, talking to Timmy, his fellow cripple. Jimmy was one of the few people who could hold an entire conversation with Timmy, so the two quickly became very close when they were young.

"H-hey fellas," Jimmy stuttered. "Thomas, this is Timmy. He's my b-best friend very much."

Thomas took a seat on the bottom bleacher. "Hey Timmy."

"Timmah!" was Timmy's enthusiastic reply. "Livinalie!"

The others sat down as well, Tweek and Clyde beside Thomas, and Craig and Token on the second bleacher. "Oh yeah!" Tweek said, pulling a paper form his back pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Thomas. "H-here."

Thomas took the paper and smiled. "Thanks. I'll try to get it filled out tonight."

"What's that?" Craig asked, looking over his shoulder.

Thomas looked up at him with a smile. "It's an application."

"F-for Harbuck's," Tweek explained.

"Oh, so you're gonna do it," Clyde said, leaning back and using Token's legs as armrests.

"COCK!" he spat. He stared at the paper with zeal in his eyes. "Yeah. I guess I am."

A moment later, the principle came up to a podium in the middle of the gym, quieting the students. One by one, each teacher came up and announced their home room. Of course, freshmen and failed students were the only ones who needed to listen. The others continued to talk quietly.

After the orientation, if that's what it could be called, the students flooded into the halls, filling them with ringing voices.

"Wow," Thomas said, taking his first steps down the hallway. "So this is South Park High School," he said in a sort of faux astonishment.

"Yeah. Ngh, it sucks," Tweek said as he clasped two heavy duty locks on his locker. A purple combination lock and a silver key lock bulged from the locker.

"AH, SHIT!" Thomas spat. The steady chatter suddenly ceased, and Thomas blushed at the outburst. "COCK! SHIT!" He pursed his lips in embarrassment.

Craig looked over to a pair of freshmen boys who were eyeing Thomas. "What are you looking at?" he asked before flipping the pair off. They looked to each other, shrugged, and turned away.

"Thanks Craig," Thomas said quietly. "COCK!"

"Ngh," Tweek groaned, angrily spinning his combination lock. He still didn't like when Craig gave Thomas more attention, as childish as that was.

"What's your locker number?" Clyde asked, closing his and Token's locker. Originally, it was just Token's, but he decided freshmen year it would be OK to move in.

Thomas unrolled a small scroll of paper, reveling the number. "Oh," Craig said, motioning for Thomas to follow him. "That's by mine. It's on the other end of the school."

Jimmy hobbled up to them when they passed by. "D-did you get your locker yet?" he asked.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah. That's where I'm going."

"Well, if you need a lock, I have an-ano-another one."

"Thanks," Thomas said, scanning the wall for his locker. "Yes!" he exclaimed when he found it. "It's a top locker!" He opened his locker, examining the inside.

"Whipee," Craig said in a sarcastic dead-pan.

"What?" Thomas asked.

The others laughed, watching Craig walked down the hall a ways. He bent down to open his locker. "I'm the only one with a bottom locker." he slammed his locker shut.

Clyde laughed. "I was given a bottom locker, too. That's why Token lets me share with him."

"I don't let you," Token said. "You just do."

Clyde grinned. "Oh? Then why haven't you kicked me out yet?"

Token rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Why do you think I kept throwing your books back in your locker?"

"If you really wanted me to move out, why did you stop doing that?" Clyde smirked, crossing his arms.

"Because you kept stealing mine!" he exclaimed. Clyde laughed triumphantly.

"Do you not have a lock yet?" Thomas asked.

Craig eyed around. "I don't need a lock. Everyone knows better than to steal from me." He slammed his locker shut. "I'd still rather have a top locker, though."

"COCK! Ugh..," Thomas groaned. "Why don't you just share with Tweek like Token and Clyde do?"

Jimmy laughed. "They t-tried that."

"Ngh!" Tweek groaned. "Craig can't keep a locker clean for crap! I kept trying to straighten up, y'know, keep all our books in order, and I kept getting tardies!" He tugged at his hair. "I got so many tardies that I got three days of in-school! Arg! Twice!"

"After that," Craig said, "he literally threw my books at me and yelled, 'get out!'" Craig said. "So I went back to my old locker."

Tweek jerked his head to the side. "Ngh, I didn't throw your books at you."

"Yes you did," Craig explained. "You got really pissed off at me all of a sudden."

Clyde elbowed Thomas. "Yeah, they wouldn't talk to each other for two days after that. It was really stupid because we all still ate lunch together, but they wouldn't look at each other. They kept saying stuff like, 'Clyde, tell Tweek I said this,' or, 'tell Craig I said that.'"

"It was really annoying," Token remembered.

Tweek and Craig turned down their heads in embarrassment at the memory. "But now," Craig started to walk to Thomas's locker. "Thomas has a top locker. I'm sure you wouldn't mind."

Tweek twitched at the sound of this before jerking forward. "Wait!" he yelled, but tripped over himself, catching on Craig's arm. He stared wide-eyed at the ground before him. If it wasn't for Craig, he could have fallen and busted his face open. He trembled at the thought of smashing his skull on the cement floor, blood spreading around him after severing his spinal cord. The pain would have been so immense...

Suddenly, Craig yanked his arm away. "What?" he said, voice wavering in what Tweek worried was anger.

Tweek stumbled at the sudden movement, and blood flowed to his cheeks when he realized the position he had been in. "Ngh, er, uh," he said, tugging at his shirt and searching for the right word. "Er, uh, s-sc-schedules!" he exclaimed.

It took a second for his words to sink in, but Craig's face lit up when he realized what he had meant. "Oh yeah," he said, digging in his back pocket. The others did so as well.

"It's kinda weird," Clyde said, holding his schedule in front of him, lining it up with the others. "Usually, this is the first thing we do."

"It's probably because we got so distracted with this being Thomas's first day," Craig said.

"SHIT!" he laughed. "Sorry about that." Tweek shot Thomas a glare that most likely went unnoticed.

"Aw man," Token sighed. "How could I have three classes with Clyde?"

Clyde laughed. "I know who's homework I'm copying."

"Looks like we have E-e-english together, Craig," Jimmy said. "And Thomas, we have Sp-spanish."

Tweek eyed back and forth between his and Craig's schedules, a frown growing on his face. "Ngh. We only have one class together," he said.

"Clyde, Token," Craig said, "we have Chemistry together."

"Craig," Tweek said. "I said we only have one class together."

Craig looked to his schedule. "Aw, you're right. U.S. History. That kinda sucks." Craig scanned over the papers. "At least I have a class with Thomas."

"Y-yeah," Tweek sighed.

"OK," Clyde said, cramming his schedule back in his pocket. "I think we should show Thomas where all his classes are!"

"Well, if you guys don't mind." Thomas looked down the hall at the different classes. "COCK!"

"You know where the gym and cafeteria are," Token started. "Well, this is the vocational area, down there is where most of the English classes are. And that hallway down there has the Science and Math rooms." Token moved his hand in a semi-I formation.

Thomas nodded at the information. "Wait," he said when Token didn't continue. "Is that it? No second floor?"

"Yeah man," Clyde confirmed. "This is a small school."

"Sucky, isn't it?" Token said. "You wanna walk around?"

"SHIT!" Thomas spat. Again, the commotion around them ceased. Thomas lowered his head. "Uh, sure. COCK! Ugh..."

The group of boys walked down the hall a ways before reaching a set of double-doors. Clyde held his hand up in presentation. "And this," he said, "is the library." He opened the door and walked inside.

"Ugh, I hate libraries," Thomas said.

"Ngh," Tweek muttered. "Me too."

Thomas smiled. "I guess we do have a lot in common, huh?" He walked in after the others.

Tweek stared at Thomas as he went in. For once, he smiled at the similarity. In a way, he might have even been a little happy that Thomas moved to his school. He shook his head.

"You going in?" Craig asked, holding the door open.

Tweek jerked his head to the side. "Er, yeah. S-sorry." He walked in, determination building in his eyes. He was letting his guard down, just like Thomas would want him too. At this point, he was more aware that Thomas wasn't really against him, but he still didn't want to let his guard down.

The boys sat down around one of the tables in the middle of the library. Clyde threw his arms behind his chair. "Ah, it always feels so good in here," he said, closing his eyes.

"So you just wanted to come in here to take a nap?" Thomas laughed.

"Y-you thought he wanted to read a book?" Tweek joked.

"Oh great," Craig said, resting his chin in his hand. "Those ass-holes are in here."

Tweek looked over, and sure enough, sitting only a few tables away was Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. A slight giggle escaped Tweek, remembering Craig's recent confession.

"Did you just giggle?" Token asked.

Tweek jerked his head to the side and bit his lip. "Ngh! N-no!" Token eyed him for a moment before turning away. Tweek sighed in relief.

"Hey!" an obnoxious voice exclaimed. This obnoxious voice belonged to Eric Cartman who was currently glaring at Craig. "You got a staring problem?"

Craig didn't reply. Instead he just lifted his middle finger to the fat boy.

"That's it!" Cartman yelled, standing and making his way to Craig's table. He slammed a bulky hand on the table in front of Craig. "I'm just gonna stand here and stare at you and see how you like it. Do you like it, Craig?" Craig continued to stare on emotionless.

Kyle sighed, "just ignore him, fatass."

"No," he said. "I want to see how he likes it."

Stan walked up and slapped Cartman's back. "Just sit down. You're gonna get us kicked out of the library again."

Cartman turned around. "So? What do you care? Kyle's the only one who ever wants to come in here."

"Shut up fatass!" Kyle yelled, also making his way to the other table.

Stan turned to Kyle and put a hand on the back of his shoulder. "Dude, let's just go to the gym or something. I'm really not in the mood for Cartman's shit today."

Thomas perked up. "Cartman?"

"Yeah, I'm Cartman. What of it?" he replied.

Before he could answer, the door to the library opened, letting in another pair of students. "Thank you so much, Butters," said a dark haired girl. She sat a paper on one of the tables and hovered over it. "I can't believe I forgot to put College Algebra on here."

"Why that's no problem, Wendy," Butters said, kicking his leg. "I had to get one of my classes switched anyhow." He pulled his schedule from his pocket and read over it.

Kenny, who had remained silent at his table, pulled off his hood and walked to the pair. He pulled his folded schedule from his pocket and held it out between two fingers. "Hey Butters, let's compare schedules," he said, snatching the other blond's paper. He scanned over the paper, looking disgruntled before brightening up. "Cool. We have Spanish together."

"Well whatd'ya know," Butters said, smiling.

Cartman tore Wendy's schedule from her hands. "Pft," he spat. "College Algebra? What teacher are you gonna screw to pass that?"

"See," Craig said to Thomas. "I told you those guys are ass-holes."

"God, you're such and idiot!" Wendy said, grabbing her paper back. "Just because you're too stupid to get into good classes doesn't mean everyone is."

"You're not smarter than me, ho!" Cartman retorted.

Wendy groaned, deciding there was no point in going on. The group of boys at the other table caught her eye, and she smiled as she walked to Thomas's seat. "Hey," she said, "you're the new kid, aren't you?"

Thomas sat up in his seat. "Yeah, I... BITCH! ASS BITCH!" Thomas pursed his lips.

Cartman marched over to him and pulled him out of his seat by his upper arms. "The fuck did you say!?" he yelled.

"I didn't mean it," Thomas explained. "SHIT! STUPID SHIT!"

"Do you wanna get your ass kicked!?" Cartman yelled, shaking Thomas. Thomas pulled out of Cartman's hold and glared at him. "Who do you think you are, calling me stupid?"

Before Thomas could answer, Butters spoke up. "Didn't ya hear?" he asked. "Wuh, that's the new kid. He has Tourettes Syndrome."

"SHIT!" Thomas choked. "How did you know that?"

"Huh?" Butters said.

"Tourettes Syndrome?" Cartman contemplated. He looked into his eyes before pulling his hands back. "You're that kid from that Tourettes understanding place."

"You're the kid who tried to commercialize Tourettes Syndrome!" Thomas replied.

"You're Craig's little out of town bitch," Cartman laughed. "But now you're here. Oh, how sweet for the two of you."

Stan grabbed onto Kyle's arm. "C'mon dude. Let's get out of here before we get kicked out."

"Yeah," Kyle nodded, following Stan out.

Jimmy tapped Thomas with his crutch. "Those two," he said, "I'm t-telling you."

Craig had been watching the commotion in silence, but the sound of slurps and gulps to his side turned his attention to Tweek. Tweek's thermos was overturned, emptying quickly down his throat as his body convulsed.

"You OK, Tweek?" Craig asked.

"Ngh," Tweek muttered, pulling his thermos away and licking his lips. "I-I'm fine," he said, shaking. "Ngh!"

Craig looked back at the angsty teenagers. He stood up and pulled Tweek out of his seat by his arm. "C'mon," he said. "You guys, let's go."

Cartman stepped in front of him, blocking his way. "Where are you going, Craig? Aren't you gonna defend your little bitch?"

Craig lead Tweek to the library door in silence, Tweek tripping over his feet as he tried to look back.

"Oh I see," Cartman continued. "You're helping Tweek to the bathroom 'cause he probably can't do that right either."

At that, Craig furrowed his brow and flipped the fat boy off before pulling Tweek out of the library. Warmth and protection overcame Tweek, and he smiled his lip biting smile, secretly giddy that Craig was taking care of him. "Don't listen to that fat ass-hole," Craig said, pulling Tweek down the hall. He let go and turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you smiling."

"Gah!" Tweek yelped, shaking his head. "N-nothing!"

Craig was confused, but decided not to press further into it.

"Hey guys," Clyde said, walking toward them with the rest of the group. "Cartman got kicked out of the library."

"Good," Craig said, not surprised.

"So what now?" Token asked.

Clyde leaned against a locker. "I dunno. It's only a half day, but it feels like it's taking forever."

"So w-what do you think of our sc-school so far?" Jimmy asked.

Thomas laughed. "Well, I guess it's lively at least."

"Too lively if you ask me," Craig scoffed.

A pair of female voices strolled down the hall, and Clyde instinctively fixed his posture, back against the lockers with his legs crossed at the ankle and hands in his pockets. This is what he referred to as his "cool" position.

Heidi Turner and Bebe Stevens chattered away as they neared the group. "Hi guys," they both said.

"Hey Bebe," Clyde said in a guttural voice with an upward nod of the head.

"Oh God," Token groaned.

Bebe turned around. "Hey Clyde," she cooed. "Watcha' doin'?" Heidi giggled behind her.

"Not much," he replied. "Just waiting for school to end. You?"

"Same," she said, turning her eyes playfully upward.

"So, are you doing anything after school?" Clyde asked casually.

"Well actually," Bebe started, "I was gonna go shopping at the mall later. I could really use some new shoes."

Clyde perked up for a second, but quickly returned to his "cool" position. "Well if that's the case, I could, uh, go with you. Y'know, get you a discount. If you want, I could buy you some shoes."

Bebe beamed at him. "Really? You would do that?"

Token scowled. "Hey," he said. "I thought you were gonna come over to my house after school."

"C'mon man," Clyde argued. "I go to your house all the time."

"I thought you wanted to play with our new pool table," Token said.

"I can do that another time," Clyde said, waving his hand. "It's not every day Bebe needs new shoes." He put an arm around Bebe's shoulders, giving her a half hug.

Bebe giggled again, captivating Clyde with her coquettish behavior. "Thanks, Clyde. I'll meet you after school," she said, walking away with Heidi and waving delicately over her shoulder.

Token crossed his arms. "You know, I asked my dad to pay extra shipping on that pool table because you said you wanted to play so bad."

Clyde laughed. "Sorry, but Bebe asked me to go to the mall with her. What was I supposed to say? No?"

"She didn't ask you," Token explained, showing some irritation. "You offered. You're ditching me."

"What ever," Clyde waved, walking toward the school doors. "Let's go outside. Token's just jealous 'cause girls don't ask him to go shopping with them." The others followed him.

Token glared at Clyde's back. "Oh yeah," he called sarcastically, "no girl has ever wanted my money."

A hand placed itself on Token's shoulder. He looked back to see Tweek's eyes piercing him with one of the most sympathetic looks he had ever received. "What?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Gah!" Tweek pulled his hand back and bit his lip. "Er, i-it'll be OK," he muttered.

Token laughed. "OK, now you're freaking me out. Come on. Let's go."

The group ended up sitting on the bleachers at the football field. The weather was nippy, and the metal beneath them was stabbing.

Craig stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "It's cold. Why did we come out here?"

Thomas unrolled his sleeves. "SHIT! How did you guys live your whole lives in this?"

"Jackets and long sleeved shirts," Token explained, stretching his sweater sleeve.

"That and you just get use to it," Clyde added.

"Coffee!" Tweek exclaimed, holding up his thermos. "Lots and lots of coffee! Arg!"

"Hm...," Thomas contemplated, looking across the field. "I might just have to go with long sleeved shirts and jackets for this one." He leaned back against the bleacher behind him. The grass on the field was tinted delicately with frost, and the overcast clouds surrounded the town like a snow globe, isolating it from the rest of the world. It was, in a way, a sad beauty. Thomas continued to gaze with half lidded eyes.

"W-what are you being so n-nn-no-nostalgic for?" Jimmy asked, grinning. "You just moved here."

"SHIT!" Thomas spat. "It's not the town. It's just, well, I guess I'm just really happy that I got to move here. I mean, I had friends at my old school, but not like you guys. Every year, I would float between different groups, but every summer, I could depend on you guys to be there. Now, I'm just really glad to have this stability. COCK!"

"Wow," Token said. "I didn't realize you felt that strongly about it. That's pretty touching."

Just then, the intercom cut on. From the bleachers, the boys barely made out that there was twenty minutes left before being dismissed, and that all students needed to return to their homerooms for the remainder.

Clyde stood up. "Thank God. I don't know how much more I could take of all this mushy crap." Thomas laughed, and the boys made their way down the bleachers to their homerooms.

About twenty-five minutes later, Craig left his homeroom to find Tweek waiting in the hall. "Hey," he said. "I had to help unpack books. Did the others leave?"

Tweek twitched. "Ngh, Clyde went with Bebe, and Token and Jimmy went on home. Thomas was waiting, but he left a moment ago."

Craig pulled his gloves on. "Why didn't you go on home? I wouldn't have cared, er, been offended."

Tweek smiled and looked to the floor. "I didn't mind waiting." He furrowed his brow and straightened his composure. "Ngh, I'm ready to get some more coffee. I finished mine."

Craig laughed. "How do you expect to last a whole school day when you chug it down like that?" he asked, walking out of the school and into the cold again. Craig clenched and shivered at the sudden wind.

"Gah! A-are you OK!?" Tweek asked frantically.

Craig eased into the cold. "Yeah. I just forgot how cold it was." He sniffled, wriggling his nose.

The two walked quietly down the road for a while. "H-hey Craig?" Tweek asked after a while.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Er," Tweek muttered, tugging at his shirt. "D-do you think I'll make it in the real world?"

Craig stopped walking and locked eyes with him, sending a chill down his spine. "Tweek, if you serve coffee your whole life, you'll be fine."

Tweek smiled. "I wouldn't mind serving coffee my whole life. I'd even kinda like working at Harbuck's my whole life." He clenched his fist in determination. "Ngh! South Park depends on me to give them that first cup of coffee in the morning!"

Just then, slowly fluttering down from the sky, glimmering flakes decorated the roads. "Gah! C-Craig, it's snowing!" Tweek exclaimed. "Th-the rainy seasons over!" He threw his arms up as if to catch the falling snow. He spun around and opened his mouth skyward.

Craig laughed at Tweek's behavior. "I guess I'm stuck in this cold for the rest of my life." He shrugged. "I guess that's not too bad."

Tweek stopped. "What?"

Craig shook his head, smiling. "Well, you can't stay in South Park and expect me to leave," he said, walking by Tweek and taking hold of his hand.

"Ah, eh," Tweek stammered as Craig pulled him along, entwining their fingers. "Craig, ngh, w-what are you doing?"

Craig stopped to look at him. "We're getting coffee," he said, not smiling, but with a glint in his eye.

Tweek stumbled when Craig tugged him forward, but he soon fell into step. He squeezed his hand, wanting to stay in this moment, walking hand in hand down a road covered in snow. It was perfect. Girly, but perfect.


End file.
